Japan urges ‘highest level of vigilance’ as Omicron subvariant drives record Covid surge

People in Okinawa asked to avoid non-essential outings amid new wave of infections driven by highly transmissible BA.5

Japan's government has urged people to exercise the highest level of vigilance" after the country reported a record number of new Covid-19 cases in a new wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant.

More than 186,000 cases were recorded nationwide on Thursday, while Tokyo easily beat its existing daily record with 31,878 cases. The capital, along with Osaka and Fukuoka, were among 30 of the country's 47 prefectures to report record highs this week.