COVID-19 Coronavirus: situation in Japan

[Lothor]

Yesterday, it was reported that another strain of the coronavirus had been detected in four individuals that arrived in Haneda from Brazil. That strain is different from the British and South African variant. However, it is not clear yet whether it is more infectious.

Another new coronavirus variant found in Japan

The new mutant strain was detected in four infected people who arrived from Brazil, the health ministry said.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Meanwhile, the Japanese government has decided to extend the SoE to Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, and Gifu prefectures. PM Suga will make a declaration tomorrow.

Japan set to expand coronavirus emergency to Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo

Aichi Prefecture's governor said Monday that he also plans to work with Gifu Prefecture and ask that the emergency declaration cover them as well.

www.japantimes.co.jp

I'm a bit mystified by the emphasis being placed on this story in the news. From what I understand, Covid-19 has been mutating ever since it was first discovered, as viruses do, and it's only recently become newsworthy because of the increased infectiousness of the new strains that originated in the UK and South Africa. There is no evidence so far that this new strain is more infectious than other strains (Scientists detect new strain of coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), so this reads a little like "New foreign strain invades Japan!" As we do.

 

[thomas]

As long as vaccines are not widely available, the coronavirus and each of its new mutations will remain newsworthy. I hope that in the future its scare level will be down to that of the influenza virus (which is still quite deadly despite vaccination).

 

[thomas]

The weekly update: numbers are down, due to reduced testing at the weekend, Kanagawa has almost as many infections as Tokyo.

Nationwide infections:

06/01 (Wed)	07/01 (Thu)	08/01 (Fri)	09/01 (Sat)	10/01 (Son)	11/01 (Mon)	12/01 (Tue)
6,001​	7,533​	7,882​	7,790​	6.094​	4,876​	4,535​

Nationwide deaths - Seriously Ill:

06/01 (Wed)	07/01 (Thu)	08/01 (Fri)	09/01 (Sat)	10/01 (Son)	11/01 (Mon)	12/01 (Tue)
65 - 784​	65 - 796​	66 - 826​	75 - 827​	64 - 852​	64 - 864​	64 - 881​

Infections in selected prefectures:

	06/01 (Wed)	07/01 (Thu)	08/01 (Fri)	09/01 (Sat)	10/01 (Son)	11/01 (Mon)	12/01 (Tue)
Tokyo​	1.591​	2.447​	2.392​	2.268​	1.494​	1.219​	970​
Osaka​	560​	607​	654​	647​	532​	480​	374​
Hokkaido​	115​	161​	181​	215​	188​	135​	145​
Aichi​	364​	461​	405​	362​	343​	198​	13​
Kanagawa​	591​	679​	838​	999​	729​	695​	906​
Chiba​	311​	450​	455​	477​	388​	340​	415​
Saitama​	394​	460​	496​	518​	414​	347​	261​
Hyogo​	248​	284​	297​	324​	269​	154​	161​
Okinawa​	72​	66​	82​	70​	74​	41​	?​

 

[thomas]

Today, the government extended the SoE to seven prefectures: Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Tochigi and Fukuoka, including 11 prefectures in total.

State of emergency expanded to seven more prefectures

Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Tochigi and Fukuoka have all been added, making the order effective in 11 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Tokyo reported 1.433 new cases based on 2,684 tests conducted on 10 January.

https://www.fukushihoken.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/index.files/030113sokuhou.pdf

Does this really translate into a positivity rate of over 50% ???

 

[Uncle Frank]

It makes you wonder if masks are any good at all for protection. I sometimes picture the lab people being so over whelmed , they just say "call them all positive for this week." As a former nurse , I always found gloves , handwashing & not touching your face at all were pretty good protection options.

 

[thomas]

Well, at least masks are not ineffective.

Can face masks protect against the coronavirus?

Face masks may help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Learn about the types of masks, which type you should use and how to wear it properly.

www.mayoclinic.org

Meanwhile, the Japanese goverment announced that foreign residents who disregard the 14-day quarantine will be deported!

For Japanese and resident foreigners who are allowed to enter, Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of the country's coronavirus response, said it will require them to sign a pledge upon arrival to stay in quarantine for 14 days, and violating it would result in penalties, such as disclosing the names of violators.

In addition, foreign residents who breach the 14-day quarantine rule will have their resident status revoked and be subject to deportation, Nishimura said at a separate press conference.

He said the new measures will be taken from Thursday because of a recent case where a man who returned from Britain dined with multiple people during his 14-day self-isolation period and caused the spread of a new strain of the virus.

Japan to halt entry of all nonresident foreign nationals

Japan will suspend the entry of all nonresident foreign nationals into the country as part of its efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to government sources

english.kyodonews.net

They forgot to mention that the returnee from the UK spreading the new strain was a Japanese national.

 

[Lothor]

They forgot to mention that the returnee from the UK spreading the new strain was a Japanese national.

DEPORT HIM ANYWAY!