• One new COVID-19 fatality was reported

TOKYO: Japan confirmed 2,638 new cases of novel coronavirus infection Wednesday, with the daily count topping 2,000 for the first time since Sept. 26, 2021.

Wednesday’s tally more than doubled from the previous day’s 1,268 as community transmission of the highly contagious omicron variant increased.

One new COVID-19 fatality was reported, while the number of novel coronavirus patients in severe condition stood at 60, up by six from Tuesday.

Okinawa Prefecture reported 623 new COVID-19 cases, its first daily figure above 600 since Aug. 28.

Daily COVID-19 cases in the southernmost prefecture stood below 10 between early November and Dec. 20. The number began soaring after a worker at a US military base in the prefecture was found with the omicron variant in late December.

The daily count reached 130 on Monday and 225 on Tuesday, with infections spreading mainly among people in their 20s to 40s. The occupancy rate for hospital beds for COVID-19 patients there stood at 23.5 pct as of Wednesday.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki told a news conference Tuesday that the prefecture is believed to have “already entered the sixth wave” of infections.

In Tokyo, 390 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Wednesday, the first number exceeding 300 since Sept. 26 and more than double the 151 for Tuesday. Wednesday’s figure was up sharply from the week-before level of 76.

The seven-day average of new cases in the Japanese capital stood at 135.6, up more than threefold from a week before. The number of severely ill patients in Tokyo under its criteria came to three, up by one from Tuesday. There were no new fatal cases.

Osaka Prefecture reported 244 new infection cases Wednesday, around twice the 124 marked the previous day. It was the first time since Oct. 6 for daily cases in the western prefecture to top 200.

The US military’s Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, reported Wednesday that 182 people related to the base newly tested positive for the coronavirus, a record daily high.

Separately, 104 new COVID-19 cases were found in the prefecture, with 70 of them in the city of Iwakuni, where the base is located.

The prefecture saw more than 100 new cases for the first time since Aug. 19. The prefectural government believes that the surge is blamed on transmission from infected people related to the U.S. military.

In neighboring Hiroshima Prefecture, 138 people were found positive for the coronavirus Wednesday.

A record 147 positive cases were detected at airport quarantine.

According to health ministry data, omicron cases confirmed so far in Japan exceeded 1,400.

On Wednesday, suspected community-acquired omicron cases were found for the first time in the eastern prefecture of Tochigi and the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima.

Aomori Prefecture confirmed its first case of the variant, which may have been transmitted from personnel at the U.S. military’s Misawa Air Base in the northeastern prefecture.

JIJI Press