The average number of new coronavirus cases at designated hospitals across Japan decreased for three consecutive weeks in the seven days through last Sunday, health ministry data showed. The average among the roughly 5,000 medical institutions stood at 8.50 in the week, with the total number of patients falling to 39,295, down about 20 percent from the previous week’s figure, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. The number of newly hospitalized COVID-19 patients reported by about 500 designated medical organizations nationwide was 3,619, or roughly 15 percent lower than the figure t…