(Update 2) Japan Confirms 1,303 new Coronavirus Cases

   Tokyo, Feb. 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan reported 1,303 new cases of novel coronavirus infection on Friday.
   A total of 63 new fatalities linked to the coronavirus were confirmed across the country. The number of severely ill coronavirus patients stood at 547 as of Friday, down by 17 from the previous day, according to the health ministry.
   On Friday, Tokyo logged 353 new infection cases, with the daily count in the Japanese capital standing below 500 for the 13th straight day. People in their 20s made up 84 of the new cases, followed by 69 in their 30s and 49 in their 50s. Those aged 65 or over came to 68. The number of severely ill patients recognized under Tokyo's criteria remained unchanged at 84.
   The daily count in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, stood at 91, standing below 100 for two days in a row. The western prefecture of Yamaguchi reported no new case for the first time since Nov. 9 last year.
   According to the health ministry, a coronavirus variant spreading in Britain was detected from a total of nine people in the eastern prefecture of Gunma, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and the central prefecture of Niigata. Many of them are related to facilities where cases of infection with the variant were confirmed earlier, the ministry said.

(2021/02/19-22:28)

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