Japan’s pandemic entering ‘new phase’ – minister Tokyo COVID cases, at record of 4,166 Ruling party lawmakers call for roll-back of new hospital policy Controversy is another setback to PM Suga ahead of elections Top medical adviser warns of broadening COVID clusters TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Japan warned on Wednesday that coronavirus infections were surging at an unprecedented pace as new cases hit a record high in Tokyo, overshadowing the Olympics and adding to doubts over the government’s handling of the pandemic. The Delta variant was leading to a spread of infections “unseen in the past”, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said as he defended a new policy of asking patients with milder symptoms to isolate at home rather than going to hospital. “The pandemic has entered a new phase … Unless we have enough beds, we can’t bring people to hospital. We’re acting pre-emptively on this front,” Tamura […]