Japan's cumulative coronavirus case total tops 300,000

TOKYO, Jan. 13 - Japan's cumulative total of confirmed coronavirus cases topped 300,000 on Wednesday, according to a Kyodo News tally based on official data.

The total increased by 100,000 in about three weeks, with the milestone coming as Japan plans to expand a state of emergency it declared for the Tokyo metropolitan area last week to several more prefectures.

The capital, which has been under its second state of emergency since Friday alongside neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, logged 1,433 additional virus cases on Wednesday, bringing its cumulative total to 78,566. Tokyo reached a record 2,447 new infections on Jan. 7.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is set to declare an emergency later in the day on seven additional prefectures, including Osaka and Aichi, which have similarly been struggling amid a sudden rise in numbers since the start of the year.

Aichi logged 319 new cases on the same day.

Coronavirus deaths across the country surpassed 4,000 as of Jan. 9, with as many as 70 deaths seen per day. Record numbers of severe coronavirus cases have also been confirmed on consecutive days.

Meanwhile, the surge has been increasing the strain on the country's medical system, with some hospitals already being forced to turn patients away.

According to a Kyodo News tally, the nationwide cumulative total surpassed 100,000 on Oct. 29 and reached 200,000 nearly two months later on Dec. 21.

-- BERNAMA