Il, the highest number of flu patients in the country...Tamiflu supply is also on alert.

[Anchor]
As the flu spread throughout Japan, the number of flu cases reached an all-time high.

In the midst of the strongest cold wave, the Japanese archipelago is on alert for flu measures due to a lack of treatments and testing equipment.

Correspondent Kim Se-ho's report from Tokyo.

[Reporter]
The elementary school in Shinjuku,
closed two classes last month due to a flu epidemic.

Everyone attended the opening ceremony of the new semester, but the students are still nervous.

[Japanese Elementary School 3rd grader: I had the flu, so I couldn't eat anything but jelly.]

In fact, the number of flu patients per medical institution in Japan for a week from the 23rd to the 29th of last month was 64.39.

It nearly tripled from the previous week (21.73) and is the highest since 1999 when related statistics were released.

The flu alert standard is 30 flu patients per medical institution for a week, more than double this standard.

In particular, 43 of Japan's 47 metropolitan local governments have exceeded the flu warning standards.

The number of flu patients could increase further as large-scale movements during the holidays up to nine days of the year-end and New Year holidays hit the strongest cold wave.

The rapid spread of the flu has also put Tamiflu, a treatment, and the supply of test kits on alert.

[Kichiro Matsumoto / Chairman of the Japanese Medical Association: There are voices from all over the world that there is a lack of test kits or treatment drugs]

In particular, it is known that children have been hospitalized for impaired consciousness or pneumonia caused by the flu.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare urged people to wash their hands and wear masks thoroughly, just like during the COVID-19 period.

I'm Kim Se-ho from YTN in Tokyo.