Pedestrians outside Shimbashi Station, Tokyo, wore masks Aug. 13, 2021, to prevent spread of the coronavirus. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Japan’s capital city registered nearly 10,000 new cases of coronavirus over the weekend, and another 2,962 on Monday as the fifth wave of the virus there continues to hold sway.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 5,094 people tested positive for the virus on Saturday, the third day of more than 5,000 new cases during the pandemic, and 4,295 turned up positive on Sunday, according to metro government data online.
The city recorded its one-day caseload peak Friday with 5,773 newly infected individuals.
Meanwhile, the increasing number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients in the city has set new records for seven consecutive days. Tokyo on Monday reported 268, an increase of 15 patients over Sunday, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Japan reported 17,902 new COVID-19 cases since Sunday and 10 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Nearly 37% of Japan’s population, or 46.4 million people, are fully vaccinated.
Also Monday, the U.S. military in Japan reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 since Aug. 10.
The Marine Corps reported 10 newly infected people affiliated with its force on Okinawa, according to a Facebook post by Marine Corps Installations Pacific.
Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 26 miles southwest of central Tokyo, reported eight people tested positive since Aug. 10. Two fell ill with symptoms of COVID-19, the coronavirus respiratory disease; four were identified as close contacts of previously infected individuals; and two turned up in pre-travel screenings, according to a news release from the air base.
NAF Atsugi has 13 active cases.
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, 50 miles south of Hiroshima, reported one person turned up positive since Sunday, according to a base news release.
Okinawa prefecture, home of Kadena Air Base and the bulk of the Marine Corps III Expeditionary Force, reported 339 newly infected people Monday, and one death, according to the prefectural Department of Public Health and Medical Care.
The prefecture reached a one-day record Saturday with 752 new cases and reported another 661 new cases on Sunday, according to the department.
Stars and Stripes reporter Mari Higa in Okinawa contributed to this report.
