Japan confirmed 84,936 coronavirus infections on Saturday, reaching a new record for the fifth straight day, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continues to spread across the country. The number has more than tripled from two weeks ago.
Tokyo confirmed 17,433 COVID-19 cases and three deaths Saturday. The case figure was slightly down from the record high reported a day earlier.
The occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in the capital stood at 48%, up 1.9 percentage points from Friday, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The number of seriously ill patients under Tokyo's criteria increased by two to 22.