Hospital beds in Japan are rapidly filling up as the number of cases of the coronavirus infection continue to rise.
A health ministry report shows as of Tuesday, seven prefectures were at Stage 4, the most critical of the government's four-tier alert system. Two more prefectures, Aichi and Mie, have been added to the five that were already at that stage previous week.
Japan's medical systems are increasingly under strain as the number of cases of coronavirus continues to rise.
On Tuesday, Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures were at Stage 4, the worst of the four-level alert scale, in terms of hospital bed availability. The scale was set by a government advisory panel to assess the severity of an outbreak.
A government panel on the coronavirus outbreak says two prefectures, Okinawa and Ishikawa, still remain at the worst of the four stages in hospital bed availability.
The subcommittee on Thursday released the latest data on the severity of the pandemic for each of the nation's 47 prefectures, including strains on the medical system.
The land ministry says more than 280 mudslides caused by heavy rain have been reported in over half of the country's 47 prefectures.
A total of 282 mudslides had occurred in 27 prefectures by noon on Saturday, including 52 in Kumamoto Prefecture and 44 in Kagoshima Prefecture, both in the southern Kyushu region, and 23 in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan.
The Japanese government is to call on companies in Tokyo and 12 prefectures that are on a special coronavirus alert to reduce by at least 70 percent the number of their employees traveling to work.
Thursday marks exactly one month since the government declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and six prefectures, including Osaka.
Japan's prime minister has officially declared a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures to curb the spread of infections.
Abe Shinzo held a news conference Tuesday night to explain the decision which will affect tens of millions of people. He began by thanking health care workers across the country who have dealt with more than 4,300 COVID-19 cases so far.
Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures over the coronavirus outbreak.
Other than Tokyo, the declaration applies to the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, as well as Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures in western Japan, through May 6.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike says she will ask the governors of Tokyo's four neighboring prefectures to cooperate in urging residents to avoid going out this weekend, to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Koike told reporters on Thursday that she plans to hold a teleconference with the governors of Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba and Yamanashi later in the day. She said she hopes the five Tokyo metropolitan area governors will be able to issue a joint appeal.