OSAKA: The prefectural government of Osaka, western Japan, on Wednesday declared a medical state of emergency amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the seventh wave of infections.

The prefecture will urge elderly people with high risks of developing severe symptoms to refrain from unnecessary travel, excluding shopping and exercise, between Thursday and Aug. 27.

 But it will not urge restaurants and bars to shorten their operating hours. It is the fourth medical state of emergency in Osaka, and the first since Feb. 8.

Daily COVID-19 cases have been around 10,000 to 20,000 in the prefecture in recent days, putting its medical system under strain. The occupancy rate of hospital beds reached 52.0 percent on Wednesday.

“I want everyone to take basic precautions such as vaccinations thoroughly,” Osaka Governor YOSHIMURA Hirofumi  told a press conference. “I especially want to protect elderly people at high risk.”

Over 70 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the prefecture are aged 70 or older.

Some hospitals have had to refuse to see patients due to a flood of people complaining of fever. The prefectural government plans to call on people with mild symptoms to use online medical checkups.

The prefectural government also decided to issue a red-light warning under its three-tier system for infection situation assessment.

JIJI Press