COVID-19 Coronavirus: situation in Japan

thomas · 15 Jan 2022

In other related news:

Yesterday, Japan saw more than 22,000 new cases of infections, 4,051 in Tokyo alone.

COVID-19 cases top 20,000 nationwide; dire cases surge | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

The quarantine period for international arrivals has been shortened to 10 days, as has the interval for COVID boosters (7 months) as well as the isolation period for close contacts.

Pfizer Japan has applied for approval of its COVID-19 pill which would make it the second oral drug for mild coronavirus cases available.

The Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare has already approved the oral drug molnupiravir, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co in December. Health minister Shigeyuki Goto said in December that oral drugs are expected to play a significant role in treating sufferers of mild COVID-19 symptoms. Clinical trials have shown that Paxlovid has a higher chance of preventing hospitalizations and deaths compared to molnupiravir, cutting such risks by 88 percent for patients who took the drug within five days of the onset of symptoms, compared to those who were given a placebo, according to the company The pill, which prevents the coronavirus from multiplying in the body, is prescribed to be taken twice a day for five days.

Pfizer seeks approval for oral COVID-19 pill in Japan

Pfizer Japan Inc said Friday it has applied to the Japanese health ministry for approval of its COVID-19 pill which, if granted, would make it the second oral drug for mild coronavirus cases available in the country. The new drug application for Paxlovid, a combination of two antiviral drugs...

japantoday.com

mdchachi · 15 Jan 2022

johnnyG said:
Some possible history notes, from the telegraph, via yahoo.

Was the Russian flu a ‘coronavirus’? What the 1890s pandemic tells us about how Covid might end

The fourth wave of the pandemic, like the three that preceded it, was marked by a dry cough, an intense headache and what one medical correspondent described as “a feverish malaise”. Soon, both the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition were confined to their sickbeds and London...

finance.yahoo.com

Very interesting. It doesn't finish the story. What happened to the disease? If it disappeared then herd immunity must have been achieved somehow. No?

johnnyG · 15 Jan 2022

mdchachi said:
What happened to the disease?

I'm not sure, likely they aren't either. I've read about some 'forensic' investigation of the 1918-19 flu (the biggie), but this is the first I've seen anything at all about any earlier, perhaps flu-/conona-like epidemic.

johnnyG · 15 Jan 2022

1889–1890 pandemic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

thomas · 18 Jan 2022

And the records are tumbling daily. Today, Japan saw 32,197 coronavirus cases, the highest yet. Osaka had 5,396, Tokyo 5,185 cases. Luckily, the number of severe cases (243 yesterday) and deaths (four yesterday and nine today) remains relatively low. The quasi-emergency measures, already in place in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Okinawa prefectures since earlier this month, will probably be extended to other prefectures.

Tokyo and Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Gifu and Mie prefectures made their requests on Monday, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tuesday the government has also received requests from Aichi, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures. Niigata, Kagawa and Gunma prefectures also made their request in the afternoon amid fears over the rapid spread of the virus and strain on the medical system. Gunma Prefecture reported an all-time high of 375 new coronavirus cases the same day. The central government is working on the requests and will make a decision as early as Wednesday, according to sources.

Japan's daily COVID-19 cases top 30,000, setting new record

Japan's confirmed 32,197 daily coronavirus cases on Tuesday, topping 30,000 for the first time, surpassing the previous record of 25,992 registered in August last year, according to a Kyodo News tally. The western prefecture of Osaka the same day reported 5,396 new COVID-19 cases, far...

japantoday.com

Article expired

News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More

www.japantimes.co.jp

11 prefectures to be added to those in pre-emergency measures | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

musicisgood · 18 Jan 2022

did someone post an article that there are two types of containers ( vials ) for the vaccine. One is good of 10 patients and the other is a concentrate one that needed to be diluted and ( forgot how many patients can be jabbed with it ) . I think someone posted a link here but I can't seem to find it.
Can someone follow up on this. I tried but no luck so far.

mdchachi · 19 Jan 2022

musicisgood said:
did someone post an article that there are two types of containers ( vials ) for the vaccine. One is good of 10 patients and the other is a concentrate one that needed to be diluted and ( forgot how many patients can be jabbed with it ) . I think someone posted a link here but I can't seem to find it.
Can someone follow up on this. I tried but no luck so far.

I don't remember seeing that but here's an article that talks about the Pfizer preparation. Moderna comes already prepared.

Unlike the Moderna vaccine, the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine must be diluted before use. After thawing, the multiple-dose vial contains 0.45 mL of concentrated vaccine, which requires further dilution using 1.8 mL of preservative-free 0.9% sodium chloride injection. After dilution, each vial contains six (or even seven) doses when using low dead-volume syringes/needles to extract the 0.3-mL (30-mcg) dose.

thomas · 19 Jan 2022

The weekly numbers (12-18 Jan 2022):

Nationwide infections:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

13,052 (+ 10,561)

[/TD]

[TD]

18,673 (+ 14,198)

[/TD]

[TD]

22,045 (+ 15,831)

[/TD]

[TD]

25,744 (+ 17,433)

[/TD]

[TD]

25,483 (+ 17,405)

[/TD]

[TD]

20,991 (+ 14,553)

[/TD]

[TD]

32,197 (+ 25,958)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Nationwide deaths:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

5 (+ 4)

[/TD]

[TD]

4 (+ 3)

[/TD]

[TD]

9 (+ 8)

[/TD]

[TD]

6 (+ 4)

[/TD]

[TD]

0 (- 1)

[/TD]

[TD]

4 (+ 2)

[/TD]

[TD]

9 (+ 7)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Nationwide Seriously Ill:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

105 (+ 45)

[/TD]

[TD]

125 (+ 61)

[/TD]

[TD]

221 (+ 130)

[/TD]

[TD]

233 (+ 144)

[/TD]

[TD]

235 (+ 145)

[/TD]

[TD]

243 (+ 153)

[/TD]

[TD]

261 (+ 161)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

SELECTED PREFECTURES:

Tokyo:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

2,198 (+ 1,808)

[/TD]

[TD]

3,124 (+ 2,483)

[/TD]

[TD]

4,051 (+ 3,129)

[/TD]

[TD]

4,561 (+ 3,337)

[/TD]

[TD]

4,172 (+ 2,949)

[/TD]

[TD]

3,719 (+ 2,848)

[/TD]

[TD]

5,185 (+ 4,223)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Okinawa:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

723 (+ 100)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,036 (+ 55)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,317 (- 97)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,829 (+ 70)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,495 * (- 38)

[/TD]

[TD]

561 * (- 218)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,564 * (+ 789)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Osaka:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

723 (+ 479)

[/TD]

[TD]

2,452 (+ 1,947)

[/TD]

[TD]

2,826 (+ 2,150)

[/TD]

[TD]

3,692 (+ 2,801)

[/TD]

[TD]

3,760 (+ 2,880)

[/TD]

[TD]

2,549 (+ 2,100)

[/TD]

[TD]

5,396 (+ 4,783)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hokkaido:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

197 (+ 163)

[/TD]

[TD]

328 (+ 254)

[/TD]

[TD]

467 (+ 373)

[/TD]

[TD]

695 (+ 563)

[/TD]

[TD]

692 (+ 575)

[/TD]

[TD]

643 (+ 537)

[/TD]

[TD]

698 (+ 581)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hiroshima:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]12/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]13/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]14/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]15/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]16/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]17/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]18/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

652 (+ 514)

[/TD]

[TD]

805 (+ 532)

[/TD]

[TD]

997 (+ 568)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,212 (+ 665)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,280 (+ 661)

[/TD]

[TD]

973 (+ 301)

[/TD]

[TD]

900 (+ 312)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

* (incl US servicemen)

Vaccinations as of 18 January 2022:

202m (+ 1m); fully vaccinated: 99.6m (+ 0.2m) = 79.1% of population

musicisgood · 20 Jan 2022

mdchachi said:
I don't remember seeing that but here's an article that talks about the Pfizer preparation. Moderna comes already prepared.

Thank you very much. That is what I was referring about, but there is another bottle that doesn't need to be diluted that can give out 10 doses.

mdchachi · 21 Jan 2022

musicisgood said:
Thank you very much. That is what I was referring about, but there is another bottle that doesn't need to be diluted that can give out 10 doses.

I'm not sure if it's in the market yet but I guess this is what you're referring to.

https://cdn.pfizer.com/pfizercom/2021-10/EMA_Tris_Sucrose_Statement_10.18.21_FINAL.pdf

Grandpa Frank · 21 Jan 2022

Saw a Facebook post yesterday saying no one in Japan is catching covid because they all wear masks there that prevent it , LOL.

thomas · 22 Jan 2022

Uncle Frank said:
Saw a Facebook post yesterday saying no one in Japan is catching covid because they all wear masks there that prevent it , LOL.

Tokyo saw a record of 11,227 cases today, up 1,528 from yesterday and 6,666 from last Saturday; it is also the first time the daily count has topped 10,000. National tally: 54,576. Still, people follow the basics, wear masks, disinfect their hands, keep their distance, open windows on public transportation, etc. Without these measures, the cases would probably amount to a multiple of that.

According to studies of cell phone traffic, train usage and other mobility data, levels of compliance by the public have steadily decreased.

Meanwhile, Japan is planning to expand a quasi-state of emergency, "mambo", short for man'en bōshi-tō jūten sochi (まん延防止等重点措置), to a total of 29 prefectures.

COVID-19 sets records across nation; Tokyo, Osaka reeling | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

As COVID-19 infections surge in Japan, so does risk of pandemic fatigue

Studies of cell phone traffic, train usage and other mobility data suggest levels of compliance by the Japanese public on anti-COVID-19 measures have steadily decreased.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Japan to expand COVID quasi-emergency to 29 of 47 prefectures - The Mainichi

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan is planning to expand the enforcement of a quasi-state of emergency to a total of 29 of the country's 47 prefectures, after Osa

mainichi.jp

thomas · 26 Jan 2022

The weekly updates (19-25 Jan 2022):

Nationwide infections:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

41,485 (+ 28,433)

[/TD]

[TD]

46,199 (+ 32,001)

[/TD]

[TD]

49,854 (+ 27,809)

[/TD]

[TD]

54,576 (+ 28,832)

[/TD]

[TD]

50,030 (+ 24,547)

[/TD]

[TD]

44,810 (+ 23,819)

[/TD]

[TD]

62,612 (+ 30,415)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Nationwide deaths:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

15 (+ 10)

[/TD]

[TD]

9 (+ 5)

[/TD]

[TD]

9 (± 0)

[/TD]

[TD]

17 (+ 11)

[/TD]

[TD]

11 (+ 11)

[/TD]

[TD]

17 (+ 13)

[/TD]

[TD]

39 (+ 30)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Nationwide Seriously Ill:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

281 (+ 176)

[/TD]

[TD]

287 (+ 162)

[/TD]

[TD]

414 (+ 181)

[/TD]

[TD]

424 (+ 189)

[/TD]

[TD]

430 (+ 195)

[/TD]

[TD]

439 (+ 196)

[/TD]

[TD]

444 (+ 183)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

SELECTED PREFECTURES:

Tokyo:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

7,377 (+ 5,179)

[/TD]

[TD]

8,638 (+ 5,514)

[/TD]

[TD]

9,699 (+ 5,648)

[/TD]

[TD]

11,227 (+ 6,666)

[/TD]

[TD]

9,468 (+ 5,296)

[/TD]

[TD]

8,503 (+ 4,784)

[/TD]

[TD]

12,813 (+ 7,628)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Okinawa:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

1,443 (+ 720)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,309 (+ 273)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,447* (+ 130)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,519* (- 310)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,143* (- 352)

[/TD]

[TD]

611 (+ 50)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,225* (- 339)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Osaka:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

6,101 (+ 5,378)

[/TD]

[TD]

5,933 (+ 3,481)

[/TD]

[TD]

6,254 (+ 3,428)

[/TD]

[TD]

7,375 (+ 3,683)

[/TD]

[TD]

6,219 (+ 2,459)

[/TD]

[TD]

4,803 (+ 2,254)

[/TD]

[TD]

8,612 (+ 3,216)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hokkaido:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

1,170 (+ 973)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,437 (+ 1,109)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,644 (+ 1,177)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,605 (+ 910)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,591 (+ 899)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,589 (+ 946)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,536 (+ 838)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hiroshima:

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[TH]19/01 (Wed)[/TH]
[TH]20/01 (Thu)[/TH]
[TH]21/01 (Fri)[/TH]
[TH]22/01 (Sat)[/TH]
[TH]23/01 (Son)[/TH]
[TH]24/01 (Mon)[/TH]
[TH]25/01 (Tue)[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

1,042 (+ 390)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,569 (+ 764)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,532 (+ 535)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,585 (+ 373)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,476 (+ 196)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,056 (+ 83)

[/TD]

[TD]

1,099 (+ 199)

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

* (incl US servicemen)

Vaccinations as of 24 January 2022:

204m (+ 2m); fully vaccinated: 99.7m (+ 0.1m) = 79.2% of population

thomas · 26 Jan 2022

More news:

A new record number of infections today, with 14,086 cases in Tokyo and 71,620 nationwide.
Eighteen more prefectures were added to those under the quasi-emergency measures that will be in effect until 20 February and cover some 70 per cent of the country.
So far, o nly 16 per cent of eligible people in Japan have received an early COVID booster shot.
Japan's Omicron surge has triggered a shortage of COVID-19 tests.
Hospital beds again run low for (general) emergency patients.

Oh, and to conclude with something positive: an opinion piece by the NYT on what Japan got right about Covid-19.

Opinion | What Japan Got Right About Covid-19 (Published 2022)

The country embraced the science of the coronavirus early.

www.nytimes.com

johnnyG · 27 Jan 2022

Booster scheduled on 2/8th, about two weeks. My wife will be a month or two later (under 65).

Lothor · 27 Jan 2022

thomas said:
More news:

A new record number of infections today, with 14,086 cases in Tokyo and 71,620 nationwide.

Eighteen more prefectures were added to those under the quasi-emergency measures that will be in effect until 20 February and cover some 70 per cent of the country.

So far, o nly 16 per cent of eligible people in Japan have received an early COVID booster shot.

Japan's Omicron surge has triggered a shortage of COVID-19 tests.

Hospital beds again run low for (general) emergency patients.

Oh, and to conclude with something positive: an opinion piece by the NYT on what Japan got right about Covid-19.

Opinion | What Japan Got Right About Covid-19 (Published 2022)

The country embraced the science of the coronavirus early.

www.nytimes.com

To add to that, at the moment the eligible people are usually priority people (health workers, elderly people, etc.). The figure NHK gave last night is that 2.1% of the population have received a COVID booster shot. This particular wave will probably have run its course by the time a significant proportion of the population have had their booster.

musicisgood · 29 Jan 2022

８００００ cases now.

thomas · 31 Jan 2022

It seems as if the booster measures are picking up speed. Today, the Self-Defense Forces reopened their mass vaccination centre to accelerate booster shots.

The number of vaccinations administered will start from 720 people a day. It is scheduled to ramp up by three times to 2,160 from Feb. 7. The booster rollout started at 8 a.m. as scheduled. After people entered the venue, they were checked by medical personnel about their health conditions and histories and then proceeded to vaccination booths. The venue was not congested, and many young people came to the site for their third jabs. The Moderna Inc. vaccine is being used at the center, which is set up in the Otemachi government building in the capital's Chiyoda Ward, the same location as last year's venue.

What you should know about getting your booster shot in Japan:

Looking to get your booster in Japan? Here’s what you need to know.

Efforts to increase the administration of boosters are ramping up, with a mass vaccination site run by the Self-Defense Forces having opened in Tokyo.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Meanwhile, a Japanese study revealed that patients with the omicron variant shed virus for longer after symptoms emerge.

Preliminary data from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases—which conducts disease surveillance in Japan—suggest that the amount of viral RNA is highest three to six days after diagnosis or symptom onset. The isolation period for people testing positive for covid-19 was recently cut from 10 days to seven in England if two lateral flow tests returned negative results on days six and seven.

Covid-19: Peak of viral shedding is later with omicron variant, Japanese data suggest

Patients with the omicron variant of covid-19 shed virus for longer after symptoms emerge, show data from Japan, potentially jeopardising hopes that the period of isolation for people testing positive could be shortened. Preliminary data from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases—which...

www.bmj.com

PM Kishida said that there are no plans to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo.

His remarks came amid pressure on the government to again place Tokyo under a state of emergency, with the capital reporting 11,751 daily coronavirus cases the same day, topping 10,000 for the seventh consecutive day. The occupancy rate for designated COVID-19 hospital beds stood at 49.2%, approaching the 50% threshold for the metropolitan government to consider requesting a state of emergency to strengthen anti-coronavirus measures. "A quasi-state of emergency has already started, and our basic thinking is that we will confirm its effect, see how the situation develops and work closely with municipalities before comprehensively making a decision," Kishida told reporters.

Article expired

News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More

www.japantimes.co.jp

thomas · 2 Feb 2022

The weekly updates (26 Jan - 1 Feb 2022):

Nationwide infections:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
71,620 (+ 30,135)	78,931 (+ 32,421)	81,811 (+ 31,957)	84,934 (+ 30,358)	78,128 (+ 28,098)	60,838 (+ 16,028)	81,655 (+ 19,043)

Nationwide deaths:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
32 (+ 17)	43 (+ 34)	43 (+ 34)	39 (+ 22)	31 (+ 20)	44 (+ 27)	69 (+ 30)

Nationwide Seriously Ill:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
470 (+ 189)	537 (+ 250)	697 (+ 283)	734 (+ 310)	767 (+ 337)	783 (+ 344)	804 (+ 360)

SELECTED PREFECTURES:

Tokyo:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
14,086 (+ 6,709)	16,538 (+ 7,900)	17,631 (+ 7,932)	17,433 (+ 6,206)	15,895 (+ 6,427)	11,751 (+ 3,248)	14,445 (+ 1,632)

Okinawa:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
1,256 (- 187)	1,290* (- 19)	1,208* (- 239)	1,204* (- 315)	927* (- 216)	480 (- 131)	764* (- 461)

Osaka:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
9,813 (+ 3,712)	9,711 (+ 3,778)	10,013 (+ 3,759)	10,383 (+ 3,008)	9,135 (+ 2,916)	6,243 (+ 1,440)	11,881 (+ 3,269)

Hokkaido:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
2,091 (+ 921)	2,856 (+ 1,419)	2,775 (+ 1,131)	3,002 (+ 1,397)	2,782 (+ 1,191)	2,266 (+ 677)	2,660 (+ 1,124)

Hiroshima:

26/01 (Wed)	27/01 (Thu)	28/01 (Fri)	29/01 (Sat)	30/01 (Son)	31/01 (Mon)	01/02 (Tue)
1,252 (+ 210)	1,502 (- 67)	1,599 (- 67)	1,356 (- 229)	1,376 (- 100)	1,041 (- 15)	1,056 (- 43)

* (incl US servicemen)

Vaccinations as of 31 January 2022:

206m (+ 2m); fully vaccinated: 99.8m (+ 0.1m) = 79.3% of population

musicisgood · 2 Feb 2022

Well, Yamaguchi Pref. is getting hit hard. 320 new cases the other day.

thomas · 9 Feb 2022

An update on related news:

According to a study conducted by the Institute of Medical Science of the University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University and other institutions, the Omicron variant appears less likely to cause serious symptoms because it stops at the "entrance" of lung tissues.

Animal tests have shown that the previously dominant Delta variant caused more serious cases of pneumonia than Omicron, which is driving the sixth wave of novel coronavirus infections in Japan.
But the difference between the two strains' ability to cause serious illness has not been made clear.

Study: Omicron's inability to enter lung tissues may reduce potency | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Tokyo and 12 other prefectures asked the government to extend the COVID quasi-emergency which ends this weekend.

The requests were made by the capital and three of the neighboring prefectures -- Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa -- as well as Gunma, Niitaga, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Kagawa, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Miyazaki. The government is eyeing a three-week extension from the original end date of Sunday for the 13 prefectures, government sources have said. Kochi Prefecture has also requested to be added to the quasi-emergency, which currently covers 35 of Japan's 47 prefectures, the sources said.

Tokyo, 12 prefectures ask to extend COVID quasi-emergency

Osaka has declared a medical emergency as hospital beds for virus patients have filled beyond capacity.

Osaka in medical emergency as hospital beds for virus patients fill | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

COVID-19 patients may be allowed to leave hospital as early as four days after hospitalization if they do not require oxygen or are not in a worse condition.
Starting from the day following the date of admission, the ministry says patients not in need of supplemental oxygen, or those whose symptoms have not worsened on the fourth day or later, as having a lower chance of becoming severely ill.

COVID-19 patients may be allowed to leave the hospital in four days

thomas · 9 Feb 2022

Here are the weekly updates (02-08 Feb 2022):

Nationwide infections:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
94,930 (+ 23,310)	103,791 (+ 24,860)	95,453 (+ 13,642)	100,949 (+ 16,015)	89,145 (+ 11,017)	68,039 (+ 7,201)	92,078 (+ 10,423)

Nationwide deaths:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
80 (+ 48)	90 (+ 47)	101 (+ 58)	116 (+ 77)	67 (+ 36)	113 (+ 69	159 (+ 90)

Nationwide Seriously Ill:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
886 (+ 416)	911 (+ 374)	1,042 (+ 345)	1,099 (+ 365)	1,134 (+ 367)	1,143 (+ 360)	1,141 (+ 337)

SELECTED PREFECTURES:

Tokyo:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
21,576 (+ 7,490)	20,679 (+ 4,141)	19,798 (+ 2,167)	21,122 (+ 3,689)	17,526 (+ 1,631)	12,211 (+ 460)	17,113 (+ 2,668)

Okinawa:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
826 (- 430)	701* (- 589)	789* (- 419)	729* (- 475)	595* (- 332)	316 (- 164)	682 (- 82)

Osaka:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
11,171 (+ 1,358)	19,615 (+ 9,904)	10,640 (+ 627)	10,918 (+ 535)	12,555 (+ 3,420)	8,308 (+ 2,065)	11,409 (- 472)

Hokkaido:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
3,587 (+ 1,496)	3,788 (+ 932)	3,543 (+ 768)	4,000 (+ 998)	3,464 (+ 682)	2,687 (+ 421)	2,879 (+ 219)

Hiroshima:

02/02 (Wed)	03/02 (Thu)	04/02 (Fri)	05/02 (Sat)	06/02 (Son)	07/02 (Mon)	08/02 (Tue)
1,032 (- 220)	1,179 (- 323)	1,233 (- 366)	1,277 (- 79)	1,109 (- 267)	748 (- 293)	892 (- 164)

* (incl US servicemen)

Vaccinations as of 7 February 2022:

211m (+ 5m); fully vaccinated: 99.9m (+ 0.1m) = 79.4% of population

thomas · 10 Feb 2022

"Mambo" (Japan's COVID-19 restrictions) have been extended until 6 March in 13 prefectures (Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Gunma, Niigata, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Kagawa, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures). Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike criticized Kishida for insisting on waiting until vaccine supplies were delivered to all municipalities so they can start with boosters at the same time.

Kishida's decision follows requests from governors in the affected areas, where daily cases are beginning to overwhelm hospitals with more serious ones among elderly people. There are also staff shortages among medical workers who are either infected or close contacts of those who test positive. The measures are a less stringent version of a state of emergency and have been expanded and extended since January. They include shorter working hours for eateries in exchange for government subsidies and restrictions on large public events. Japan has resisted the use of lockdowns as the government seeks to minimize damage to the economy. Even so, Japanese are increasingly becoming less cooperative in social distancing and other restrictions. Kishida has faced criticism for the delayed and slow booster rollouts, which only started in December with medical workers. So far, only 7.2% of the population have received their jabs.

Japan to extend virus restrictions in Tokyo, 12 other prefectures until March 6

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday announced plans to keep COVID-19 restrictions for Tokyo and 12 other prefectures for three more weeks until early March, as omicron infections show little signs of slowing and most Japanese still lack booster shots. The current measures covering Tokyo...

japantoday.com

Japan to extend COVID quasi-emergency for Tokyo, 12 other prefs. - The Mainichi

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan plans to extend the COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency for Tokyo and 12 prefectures by three weeks from its scheduled end this w

mainichi.jp

thomas · 15 Feb 2022

Yesterday, Japan's booster vaccination campaign started "in earnest", with the government hoping to accelerate the rollout campaign to 1 million shots a day by the end of the month.

All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. together administered third shots to 242 of their employees at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. ANA and Japan Airlines said they plan to give the booster to 20,000 and 17,000 of their group employees and others, respectively, over the next few months.

Workplace booster vaccinations kick off in Japan

ANA and Japan Airlines began administering third doses to staffers in earnest Monday, with more major firms set to join them later this week.

www.japantimes.co.jp

I reckon Omicron has changed the public perception of those infected (we suddenly know a lot of people around us who'd been down with the virus), but here's another piece by the JT that looks at how the watchful gaze of the public eye has kept the nation's citizens in check:

That sense of duty to follow social norms - and intolerance for those who don't - may be one reason why the nation has been able to avoid suffering the kind of explosive outbreaks seen in other countries despite there being no stringent lockdown measures in place. Granted, the health care system has been strained as the country has dealt with waves of infections, and the rapidly spreading omicron variant has seen case numbers soar to record highs in recent weeks. But in terms of its death toll, Japan stands on par with nations such as Portugal, Myanmar and the Netherlands, even though its population is far larger than all three countries combined.

How social norms have influenced Japan’s COVID-19 response

Without any legally enforceable lockdown measures, the watchful gaze of the public eye has kept the nation’s citizens in check.

www.japantimes.co.jp

And while new infections are dropping, the number of patients recuperating at home tops 500,000 for the first time.

Lothor · 15 Feb 2022

I think that the sense of duty to conform to public health measures may have reduced the number of cases but doesn't explain the relatively low death rate in Japan.
Japan has the 11th largest population among the countries of the world and at the moment the 19th largest number of detected cases, which is a moderately good performance, although less impressive considering the limited amount of testing (less than 0.3 tests per person compared with as many as 21 in Denmark!).
Most of the countries in eastern Asia have had low death rates per population, which suggests that some genetic factor is also involved.

Figures are from Worldometer, and I'll admit to not reading the original article because of the paywall.

COVID-19 Coronavirus: situation in Japan

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