Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has instructed his coronavirus taskforce to use all available means to prevent the spread of the virus, as the daily number of new cases increases ahead of the winter season.

Suga noted at a taskforce meeting on Tuesday that the national daily tally has exceeded 1,000 recently, and said the government needs to respond to the situation with the strongest sense of urgency.

He said hospital bed occupancy rates remain at about 30 percent even in prefectures where new infections are increasing. But he said the government would work to stay ahead of the virus based on previous experience with a view to protecting the lives and health of the people of Japan.

Suga said the government would take stronger measures against cluster infections based on emergency guidelines issued by a panel of experts the day before.

He also said they would ramp up the effort to raise awareness of high-risk situations to enable people to better ward off the virus.

Suga noted that coronavirus vaccines are under development by pharmaceutical companies in Japan and abroad, bringing the wisdom of mankind to bear against the virus.

He asked taskforce members to do all they can to prevent the spread of infections prior to winter, while ensuring that socio-economic activities are maintained.