A recent surge in the admission of COVID-19 patients to intensive care units at hospitals across Japan is complicating the provision of care to other seriously ill patients, some of which are not receiving the medical attention they need.

Over the past few days the numbers of new daily COVID-19 cases appear to have been decreasing, with a near one-month low of 2,764 new cases reported Monday, according to a Kyodo News tally.

But the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients are still on the rise, with a record 1,017 cases recorded Monday, the health ministry has said.