COVID-19 infections in Japan continue to rise, 1,078 cases confirmed

Japan's health ministry and local governments said Sunday the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide had risen to 1,078 cases as of 6:30 p.m. local time here.

Earlier on Sunday the number of COVID-19 infections in Japan was reported at 1,055 cases as of 10:30 a.m. local time, an increase of 40 cases from a day earlier.

The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 46 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

Of the 1,078 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan, the majority are in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, which has confirmed 162 cases, followed by Aichi Prefecture with 143 confirmed cases, Tokyo has 138, Osaka 125, Hyogo 108 and Kanagawa Prefecture has confirmed 75 COVID-19 infections, according to the latest statistics from health ministry and local authorities.

The health ministry said there are currently a total of 61 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators to receive respiratory assistance or have been admitted to intensive care units for medical treatment.

The ministry said, meanwhile, that a total of 766 people have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved.