A total of 287 people died, bringing the total fatality toll to 36,302.
Japan reported 1,395,301 cases in the week from August 8-14, the highest number of new cases in the world for the fourth week in a row, followed by South Korea and the US, local media Kyodo News reported, citing the latest weekly update of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Many local residents with mild infections are quarantined at home, while those reporting serious symptoms are struggling for hospitalization.
According to Japan’s Health Ministry, more than 1.54 million infected people nationwide were quarantined at home as of August 10, the highest number since outbreak was first reported.
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Hospital bed occupancy rate is rising, said the country’s public broadcaster NHK, citing government statistics that as of Monday, the COVID bed use rate was 91 percent in Kanagawa prefecture, 80 percent in Okinawa, Aichi and Shiga, and 70 percent in Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Shizuoka.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government announced that its COVID-19 bed occupancy rate was about a seemingly less serious of 60 percent. However, many local medical workers are infected or have become close contacts, resulting in a shortage of medical staff.
Despite the severity of the seventh wave and the soaring number of new cases, the Japanese government has not adopted stricter prevention measures.
The recent Obon holiday also saw a large flow of tourists — highways congested, Shinkansen bullet trains full and domestic airline occupancy rate returned to about 80 percent of the pre-COVID level.
Source: IANS
