Japan ‘enjoys’ a week of flu, snow and ice
the country’s weather agency has reported the coldest temperatures in 48 years. On Wednesday, 2,826 emergency calls were made, the highest ever. Health Ministry reported 2.83 flu cases in a week.
Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Temperatures in Tokyo dropped to their lowest in 48 years. The city is in the grip of ice, snow and a major flu epidemic with the fire department, which runs the ambulance service, experiencing its busiest days in 80 years.
On Thursday, the temperature dropped to minus four degrees C. for the first time since 1970. Fuchu, in the outskirts of Tokyo, reported a record low temperature of minus 8.4 C.
Heavy snow on Monday disrupted train and flight services as well as road transportation. Japan’s weather agency recorded as much as 23 centimetres in some parts of the capital, stranding travellers and injuring people.
As a result of the heavy snow and icy road conditions, the Tokyo fire department responded to 2,826 emergency calls on Wednesday, the highest since the service began in 1936.
A total of 592 people, aged 2 to 99, have been taken to hospitals from Monday through Wednesday night. The cold snap should continue until Saturday.
As the cold weather grips the country, a flu epidemic rages on, reaching a record high of 2.83 million cases in a single week, the Health Ministry said Friday.
The illness has hit young people particularly hard, causing the temporary closure of 108 schools and 5,737 classes across the nation.
An estimated 590,000 flu patients are aged 5 to 9, followed by 400,000 cases among those aged 10 to 19, 290,000 for people in their 40s, and 270,000 for children under 5.
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