Japan's nCoV death toll surpasses 5,000-mark

The death toll from the novel coronavirus in Japan surpassed 5,000-mark on Saturday as the country struggles to curb a third wave of infections, health authorities said.

The death toll from the virus surpassed 1,000 in July last year, and topped 2,000 after about four months in November. In late December, it passed 3,000 and in less than 20 days, it exceeded the 4,000 mark.

By prefectures, Osaka has the highest number of deaths with 812, followed by Tokyo's 770 and Hokkaido's 561.

The latest wave of infections has forced Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a state of emergency in 11 of the country's 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, earlier in the month.