Top Medical Advisor: Japan Entering New Wave of Infection

Japan's top medical advisor says the country is now entering another wave of the coronavirus. Officials are preparing to respond to the latest surge.

The government's COVID advisory panel chief Omi Shigeru met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Thursday. He told Kishida that cases are climbing across the country.

Officials recorded over 78,000 new cases nationwide on Thursday. That's up for a 6th straight day compared to the same day of the preceding week.

The Japanese government will introduce a new policy to deal with the rising infections. It will allow prefectures to step up measures if cases reach the level of the most recent wave last summer. That could include asking people with symptoms to refrain from commuting and non-essential outings.

The health minister says the number of new cases across the country could reach a record high within two weeks. New infections topped more than 250,000 a day in August.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221111_234/