TOKYO (CNA) – Over half of Tokyo’s hospital beds set aside for COVID-19 patients were occupied yesterday, a level that officials have previously flagged as a criterion for requesting a state of emergency.
The capital and most of Japan are now under curbs to contain record coronavirus cases driven by the contagious Omicron variant.
Tokyo set aside almost 7,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, and admissions have risen sharply this month, reaching 50.7 per cent yesterday. New infections numbered 14,445.
Governor Yuriko Koike said 50 per cent bed usage would be a threshold for requesting an emergency declaration from the central government.
More details on Wednesday’s Borneo Bulletin
