TOKYO: Japan reported 8,480 new cases of novel coronavirus infection on Saturday, with the daily figure topping 8,000 for the first time since Sept. 11 last year.

The nationwide number of severely ill COVID-19 patients fell by two from the previous day to 89, while there were two new deaths among coronavirus patients.

The cumulative number of infections with the omicron variant of the coronavirus topped 2,000 to stand at 2,034 as of 9 p.m. Friday (noon GMT), according to the health ministry. Infection routes remain unidentified for 916 of them. In Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, the first suspected case of infection with the omicron variant was found.

Okinawa Prefecture reported 1,759 new infection cases on Saturday, marking a daily record for the third straight day. The daily count surged by more than 30-fold in a week.

Separately, 302 new cases were reported by the U.S. forces in the southernmost Japan prefecture to the prefectural government on the same day.

The occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Okinawa came to 36.0 pct under the central government’s criteria. The occupancy rate of beds for severely ill coronavirus patients stood at 28.3 pct.

The rates rose by about 5 to 7 percentage points from the previous day.

In Tokyo, the number of new infection cases grew by some 15-fold from a week before to hit 1,224 on Saturday, exceeding 1,000 for the first time since Sept. 15 last year.

The latest seven-day average of new cases in the Japanese capital came to 502.1, up by more than eightfold from a week ago. The number of severely ill patients under Tokyo’s own criteria rose by one from the previous day to four, while no new death was confirmed.

In Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, a record 547 cases were confirmed.

Among other prefectures, new cases stood at 891 in Osaka, western Japan, 398 in Aichi, central Japan, 354 in Kanagawa, south of Tokyo, and 332 in Saitama, north of Tokyo.

A man in his 20s in Saitama who received his third COVID-19 vaccine shot in late December has tested positive for the virus.

JIJI Press