TOKYO: Japan’s daily tally of new coronavirus cases came to 4,312 on Wednesday, topping 4,000 for the first time since January 28.

In the western prefecture of Osaka, a record 1,130 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on the day. “We’re running out of hospital beds as the proportion of severely ill patients is high,” Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said.

In the neighboring prefecture of Hyogo, the daily count of new cases came to 507, exceeding the 500 mark for the first time ever. Governor Toshizo Ido said the prefecture’s medical system was in a “critical situation.”

Tokyo’s metropolitan government reported that 591 people have been newly confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The Japanese capital’s daily coronavirus tally surpassed 500 for the second straight day.

Elsewhere in the country, the daily count of new coronavirus cases came to 216 in Aichi Prefecture and 205 in Kanagawa Prefecture, above 200 for the first time since Jan. 28 and Feb. 6, respectively.

Fukuoka Prefecture logged 156 new cases, the first figure above 100 since Feb. 18. Niigata Prefecture confirmed a record 37 new cases, while Wakayama Prefecture’s daily tally matched its record high of 44.

Across the country, a total of 33 new deaths were reported among infected people. The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients rose by 12 from the previous day to 608.

In Tokyo, the daily infection count averaged 497.1 in the last week, up 19.2 pct from the preceding week’s 417.

JIJI Press