Tokyo marks record-high figure for positive COVID tests

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:19 JST, August 5, 2022

The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday registered a record-high figure of 51.4% for the number of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

During the sixth wave of the pandemic in Japan, the positive rate at fever outpatient clinics and other medical institutions peaked at about 40%. But the positive-test figure passed 50% on July 27 amid the seventh wave, and continues to increase. The high rate is likely pressurizing medical institutions, meaning people might struggle to get tested.

At one point, the weekly average number of new positive cases in Tokyo was twice as high as the same day the previous week. However, there was only a 4% week-on-week increase for Thursday, with 32,700 new cases recorded.

“The rate of increase may appear to be subsiding, but it could be that there are infected people who can’t get tested for the virus,” said Norio Omagari, director of the Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine.