Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Tokyo Fall below 100

Tokyo, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)--The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Tokyo has decreased to 94, standing below 100 for the first time since the statistics were first compiled in May last year, the metropolitan government said Thursday. Tokyo confirmed 20 new cases of novel coronavirus infection the same day, down by 11 from a week earlier. One new death was reported among COVID-19 patients in the Japanese capital. The seven-day average of daily new cases came to 19.6, down 23.4 pct week on week. The number of very ill COVID-19 patients, counted under the metropolitan government's criteria, was unchanged from Wednesday at 10. Across Japan, new positive cases came to 163, while new COVID-19 fatalities totaled five. The number of coronavirus patients with severe symptoms fell by two from Wednesday to 76. New infection cases totaled 28 in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, and 21 in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, both higher than the daily count in Tokyo. The northern Japan prefecture of Hokkaido confirmed 20 new cases, the same number as Tokyo. END