COVID-19 deaths rise to record even as infections slow in Japan

Feb 23, 2022 | News On Japan

Feb 23, 2022 (NHK) - The surge of coronavirus infections in Japan has slowed, but deaths from the disease rose to a record 319 on Tuesday. More than 69,000 new cases were reported nationwide.

A vaccine rollout facility has been set up at a park in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. 30 converted shipping containers have been joined to create the facility. The local government moved up its booster shot plans. The ward plans to inoculate 1,000 people a day.

Tokyo reported more than 11,000 new cases on Tuesday. That's about 4,000 fewer than last Tuesday. The capital's hospital bed occupancy rate for patients in serious condition stands at 36.3 percent.

The pandemic has made it more difficult to provide emergency medical care for other types of patients. Oda Jun at Osaka University Hospital said, "Unfortunately, we are unable to accept every request for emergency care. Patients with injuries or illnesses other than the coronavirus have been affected."

In the seven-day period through Sunday, there were more than 6,000 cases in which ambulance crews were unable to find hospitals to which they could transfer patients immediately. Coronavirus infections are not suspected in 66 percent of them. The number of such cases has been rising and has reached a record for six weeks in a row.

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