This Asian country is projected to see peak Covid cases in mid-January: Expert

A report on NHK World has stated that the daily new coronavirus cases in Japan could spike after mid-January, possibly surpassing the previous record. 

Toho University Professor Tateda Kazuhiro has warned that the daily coronavirus cases tally in Japan could reach the Japanese government’s earlier projection of 4,50,000 nationwide. 

Kazuhiro, is on the government’s coronavirus advisory panel, said the daily covid case tally in Japan is much higher than the country’s highest number in the seventh wave last summer.

The expert pointed out that many patients who were admitted to the hospitals int he island nation for any other illness have later tested positive for Covid-19. This has in turn increased the pressure on frontline workers to try and prevent in-hospital infections.

On Friday, the Japanese health ministry confirmed 456 coronavirus-related deaths nationwide, the highest single-day toll in the country since the start of the pandemic. The earlier record was 420 on 29 December, 2022.

Moreover, the Japanese professor warned that more people may die given the overburdened hospital situation unless the rise in infections is curbed. Additionally, Kazuhiro said that a simultaneous seasonal influenza outbreak is likely.

In the weekly epidemiological update released on January 4, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said globally, more than 3 million new cases and 10, 000 deaths have been reported in the week of 26 December, 2022, to 1 January, 2023.

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

Over the past month, more than 14.5 million cases and over 46 000 new fatalities were reported globally – an increase of 25 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, compared to the previous period.

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

(With inputs from ANI)