TOKYO, Japan -- According to the Japanese government data, a total of 84 COVID-19 patients recuperating at home in Japan died in the six months through June, fueling concerns over a possible increase of COVID-19-related deaths at home amid the strain on Japan's medical system, local media reported Monday.
The data showed that nearly 50 percent of the patients died within a few days after reporting their infections to the health ministry, which indicates that those people's conditions deteriorated suddenly.
The number of COVID-19 patients recuperating at home in Japan surpassed 45,000 last week, rising around 26,000 from a week earlier.
The pace of increase has been accelerating amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
To deal with hospital bed shortages, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga decided earlier this month that only patients with severe cases of COVID-19 and those at risk of developing severe symptoms can be admitted to hospitals in areas with a resurgence of infections.
Of the 84 patients, 36 died in one to nine days after local medical institutions reported their infections to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 11 died in 10 to 19 days, four died in 20 days or later, nine died at the time of reporting, and 24 were unknown. Over 80 percent of the patients are 60 years old or older.
Japan's nationwide daily confirmed COVID-19 infections were 12,073 on Monday, rising 43.8 percent from a week earlier. Of the total, Tokyo confirmed 2,884 cases.
Tokyo's seven-day rolling average of the new infection cases has risen to 4,135.4 per day, up 28.7 percent from the previous week.