TOKYO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Coronavirus cases across Japan increased by 345 new infections, with 102 new cases recorded in Tokyo, bringing the nationwide total to 11,152, the health ministry and local authorities said as of 10:30 p.m. local time Monday evening.
The nationwide death toll from the virus has now increased to a total of 274, including those from a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo, the latest figures showed.
In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan's outbreak, the number of COVID-19 cases has topped the 3,000 mark at 3,184 confirmed cases, followed by hard-hit Osaka Prefecture where cases increased by 85 to stand at 1,296 infections.
Kanagawa Prefecture, meanwhile, has recorded 17 more cases at 799 infections, Chiba Prefecture 22 more infections at 704 cases, Saitama Prefecture 12 new cases at 676 infections and Hyogo Prefecture has recorded 11 more cases at 524 cases, according to the latest figures released Monday evening.
The health ministry here also said there are currently a total of 235 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 also said that in total, 1,884 people have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved, according to the latest figures.
As the number of virus cases continue to increase, the Japanese government on Monday upwardly revised an already record high emergency package to a fresh record to help mitigate the economic blow from the coronavirus.
The emergency package was increased from an initial 108.2 trillion yen to 117.1 trillion yen (1.08 trillion U.S. dollars), so the emergency funding could cover the government's hasty decision to provide across-the-board cash handouts of 100,000 yen (about 927 U.S. dollars) to all those living in Japan.
Japan's Cabinet on Monday also approved an extra budget of 25.69 trillion yen (238.22 billion U.S. dollars) for fiscal 2020, compared to an initial 16.8 trillion yen extra budget decided earlier in April.
The emergency package also allocates funds to the tune of one trillion yen (9.27 billion U.S. dollars) to local governments so they can provide fiscal support to businesses complying with local authorities' requests to shutter their operations until the nationwide state of emergency comes to an end on May 6, under the government's current plans.
Due to the expanded emergency declaration, prefectural governors now have increased power to limit the movements of people and business activities, and enhanced measures to dissuade travel during the upcoming Golden Week holidays beginning at the end of this month in Japan.
Abe has strongly urged the public to reduce human-to-human contact by as much as 80 percent and has implored the nation's citizens across the country's 47 prefectures to refrain from going outside without a good reason to help ease the burden on the already strained medical system here. (1 U.S. dollar = 107.8 Japanese yen) Enditem
