TOKYO: Japan confirmed 152,536 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, sending its daily tally to a record high.

The previous record was some 110,600 cases logged Saturday.

The coronavirus seventh wave is accelerating, driven by the spread of the highly contagious BA.5 omicron variant. New cases hit record highs in 30 of the country’s 47 prefectures Wednesday.

Experts are calling on people to make sure to take basic infection prevention measures, such as wearing face masks and washing hands.

The number of patients with severe symptoms rose by 21 from Tuesday to 176 across the country, while 53 new COVID-19 deaths were reported.

Osaka Prefecture confirmed 21,976 new infections, eclipsing its record high of 15,291 marked Feb. 11.

Aichi and Kanagawa prefectures reported 13,628 cases and 11,443 cases, respectively, with their daily counts topping 10,000 for the first time.

New infections in Tokyo came to 20,401, rising by 3,523 from a week before and standing above 20,000 for the first time since Feb. 5.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, the seven-day average of new infections rose 63.9 pct from a week earlier to 16,649.3.

The number of severely ill patients under the metropolitan government’s criteria fell by one from Tuesday to 18. New COVID-19 fatalities in Tokyo totaled four.

JIJI Press