Tokyo declares coronavirus red alert as situation 'rather severe'

Record ID: 1562457

  • Title: Tokyo declares coronavirus red alert as situation 'rather severe'
  • Date: 15th July 2020
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 15, 2020) (REUTERS) CARS ON TOKYO STREET VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WEARING FACE MASK WALKING RESTAURANT STAFF WEARING FACE MASK SELLING LUNCH MEALS MAN WEARING FACE MASK HOLDING LUNCH BOX TRAINS RUNNING ON RAILWAY SIGNAGE OF RESTAURANTS PEOPLE WALKING
  • Embargoed: 29th July 2020 11:07
  • Keywords: COVID-19 Japan Tokyo Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike alert new coronavirus
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA002CMX55JB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tokyo raised its coronavirus alert to the highest "red" level on Wednesday (July 15), alarmed by a recent spike in daily new cases to record highs, with Governor Yuriko Koike describing the situation in the Japanese capital as "rather severe."
    "The number of people in serious condition remains at the same level but the number of people being hospitalised is rising," Koike told a news conference. Health experts noted Tokyo hospitals were getting crowded as the number of patients doubled from the previous week.
    The infection rate in Tokyo is at stage "red," the highest of four levels in the metropolis' system, Koike said, citing the analysis by health experts who cautioned earlier in the day that infections were going up quite a bit and "exceeding peaks."
    Infections are rising in other parts of Japan too, with Osaka prefecture in the west reporting 61 new cases on Wednesday, broadcaster NHK said, marking the highest number of daily cases there since April 20.
    In Tokyo, daily virus cases exceeded 200 in four of the past seven days, touching a record of 243 last Friday (July 10) as testing among nightclub workers in its red-light districts showed rising infections among people in their 20s and 30s.
    (Production: Akira Tomoshige, Akiko Okamoto)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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