COVID-19: Japan Reports Record 343 Daily Deaths

Japan saw a record 343 daily COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday amid the ongoing seventh wave of coronavirus infections, exceeding the previous high of 327 logged during the previous wave in late February, according to a tally of new cases across the country.

The death toll is also quickly mounting as monthly virus-related deaths exceeded 5,000 for the first time on Tuesday with more than a week left to go in August.

Newly confirmed infections also reached 208,551 after dipping under 200,000 the previous day, heightening concern that as infection cases remain high, related deaths are likely to increase further.

Osaka Prefecture reported 42 new deaths from coronavirus infection, while there were 25 confirmed in both Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa and 19 each in Saitama and Fukuoka.

In a bid to lessen the administrative burden on hospitals amid a resurgence of infections, the nation’s prefectural governors on Tuesday urged the central government to limit its daily reporting requirement for new cases to the elderly and other at-risk people.

“It is more important to save the lives of those around us than to keep track of statistics,” said Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai at a virtual meeting of the National Governors’ Association’s coronavirus task force.

Hirai, who also chairs the association, stressed that the figures do not accurately reflect the actual situation as many infections go undiagnosed.

The current infection situation “is getting worse and there are no signs of a turnaround,” the governors said in an emergency statement, stressing the urgent need to reorganize the system so that medical workers can devote their time to treating patients rather than paperwork.

The governors also called on the government to promote vaccinations and secure more fever-reducing antipyretic drugs, which are in short supply.

The government has indicated plans to announce, as early as Wednesday, an overhaul of its COVID-19 measures, including changing reporting obligations imposed on medical facilities.

Doctors are currently required by law to report all COVID-19 cases to the government by entering the data into a system shared with public health centers.