Japan has experienced a resurgence in new COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks, with Tokyo and a few other prefectures leading the way in growing outbreaks.
Three Prefectures in Center of Japan's New Cases
For the past three weeks, Tokyo has been the center of Japan's increase in COVID-19 infections, but on Wednesday, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka took the spotlight after recording their highest daily spikes in confirmed cases.
Osaka logged 221 additional infections, while Aichi Prefecture reported 167 new cases, marking the second consecutive day that the prefecture reported its highest figure.
Due to the spike in new cases, Japan recorded a single-day increase of 1,260 confirmed coronavirus cases, driving the national infection toll beyond 34,000.
Mask Distribution Program in Limbo
Health ministry officials on Thursday revealed that the government is mulling whether the planned distribution of around 80 million cloth face masks to healthcare facilities should be postponed.
The distribution was supposed to have launched earlier this month as part of the government's efforts in preventing further infections among the Japanese public.
When the cloth mask distribution in Japanese households was completed in June, the initiative was criticized for offering allegedly defective products as well as slow progress in distribution.
It remains to be seen whether the distribution will resume this month as Japan experiences growing outbreaks in several prefectures.
Mainland China Logs 105 New Cases
The Chinese health authority reported an additional 105 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland on Thursday, with only three of the new infections reported as imported cases.
Over the past few days, an outbreak in Xinjiang spurred the spike in locallymtransmitted cases in the country. Ninety-six of the new cases logged on Wednesday were reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
China now has at least 84,165 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 4,634 deaths linked to the virus.
Singapore Foreign Work Dormitory Cases on Steady Rise
The Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday reported 334 new coronavirus cases, 327 of which were work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.
The MOH noted that of the new cases, 99 percent were linked to existing clusters, while four were imported cases with travel histories from Indonesia, India, and the Philippines.
The three community cases on Wednesday were asymptomatic, the MOH said. However, they were still placed in quarantine to prevent further community transmissions.
Singapore now has a total of 51,531 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 27 deaths linked to the fast-spreading disease.
South Korea Sees Downtrend
While the rest of Asia's big countries are battling expanding outbreaks, South Korea has seen a downtrend in daily infections over the past week.
On Thursday, the country's daily cases plummeted to a month-low, with only 18 infections reported. Eleven of the new infections were imported, while the rest were community transmissions.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Thursday's toll marked a sharp decline from the previous day's nearly 50 new cases.
South Korea now has a total of 14,269 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 300 deaths.
