Covid cases in this Asian country may peak in mid-January: Experts

A report by NHK World said daily new coronavirus cases in Japan may increase after mid-January, possibly surpassing the previous record.

Professor Tateda Kazuhiro of Toho University warned that the daily coronavirus cases tally The nationwide tally in Japan could reach the Japanese government’s earlier projection of 450,000.

Kazuhiro, who is on the government’s coronavirus advisory panel, said daily Covid cases in Japan are far higher than the country’s highest numbers in the seventh wave last summer.

The expert pointed out that several patients who were admitted to the island nation’s hospitals for some other ailment later tested positive for Covid-19. This in turn has increased the pressure on frontline workers to try and prevent hospital infections.

on friday Japanese Ministry of Health 456 coronavirus-related deaths were confirmed nationwide, the highest single-day toll in the country since the start of the pandemic. The earlier record was 420 on 29 December 2022.

In addition, the Japanese professor warned that unless the increase in infections is curbed, more people could die given the hospital situation. Additionally, Kazuhiro said that there is a possibility of a simultaneous seasonal influenza outbreak.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in its weekly epidemiological update released on January 4 said globally, More than three lakh new cases and 10,000 deaths in the week of December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023.

“This represents a reduction in weekly cases and deaths of 22 percent and 12 percent, respectively,” WHO said.

Over the past month, more than 14.5 million cases and more than 46 000 new deaths were recorded globally – an increase of 25 per cent and 21 per cent respectively from the previous period.

As of January 1, 2023, there have been over 656 million confirmed cases and over 6.6 million deaths globally.

(With inputs from ANI)