Under the policy, aimed at focusing on the elderly and those with underlying conditions putting them at high risk, prefectural governments facing strains on their medical systems will urge such residents to refrain from going out as much as possible and for the public to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, according to officials.
The announcement came a day after Japan's daily cases topped 230,000, marking a new record for the second consecutive day, amid the seventh wave of the pandemic. [...] But the central government remains reluctant to impose restrictions on people's movements such as those that were implemented under quasi-emergencies lifted earlier this year, in order to maintain economic and social activities.

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The four-layered nonwoven masks were developed by Ryuichi Nakano, an associate professor at the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases of Nara Medical University in Kashihara, and Yamato Shinku-Kougyo Co., a coating processing firm for resin mold goods based in Kashiba. [...] "The material will probably prove effective for influenza viruses as well as the BA.5 subvariant (of the Omicron variant)," Nakano said. The nonwoven covering using the copper alloy, named Yamato Shinku Mask Premium, is manufactured and sold by Yamato Shinku-Kougyo. "People with metallic allergies should seek advice from their doctors although the product's safety has been confirmed," said Kazumi Iwamoto, 43, a senior managing director at Yamato Shinku-Kougyo. The standard model of 95 mm by 175 mm coverings is available in a package of 30 masks for 3,120 yen ($22) after tax.

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The government plans to make it available to elderly people and those with preexisting conditions first as they are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms. Younger people may become eligible for the shot depending on how effective it proves to be.

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Japan reported a record number of weekly cases of ambulances struggling to find a hospital for patients in the week through Sunday, hitting a high for a third straight week, as the country grapples with a surge in COVID-19 infections, the government said Tuesday. The number of cases logged from Aug. 8 to 14 increased by 2% from the previous week to 6,747, of which 2,836 involved patients with respiratory difficulties, among other symptoms, and suspected of having COVID-19, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

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A health ministry panel gave the green light to related guidelines on Wednesday. However, it is unclear when they will actually be available online, as manufacturers will then need to register their products for approval. The move is aimed at reducing the number of people visiting so-called fever clinics in order to be tested. Reducing such foot traffic will allow doctors to focus on patients who have a higher risk of developing severe symptoms. At present, government-approved antigen test kits are available either at medical facilities or certain drug stores. Municipalities also provide them to those who have symptoms so they can self-test at home. But the latest move will allow easier access to COVID-19 test kits by permitting sales online.

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Majestic said:

Hmm. Numbers of new cases slightly going down, but not by such a large amount that Kishida can eliminate entry restrictions without political blowback. The death count and seriously ill count don't look good. I'm surprised there is even agreement to drop 72-hour testing before entry into Japan. I wonder why Japan's numbers are so stubbornly high?

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Majestic said:

Hmm. Numbers of new cases slightly going down, but not by such a large amount that Kishida can eliminate entry restrictions without political blowback. The death count and seriously ill count don't look good. I'm surprised there is even agreement to drop 72-hour testing before entry into Japan. I wonder why Japan's numbers are so stubbornly high?

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Covid in China: Fish tested amid Xiamen outbreak

18 August
By Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring
Footage has gone viral of fish and crabs being tested in southern China
More than five million people have been ordered to undergo Covid-19 testing in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen this week, after some 40 cases of the virus were detected.
But they're not the only ones who have been ordered to get tested: an official notice states that some forms of sealife are also expected to join the latest mass-testing drive.
In recent weeks, Xiamen's Jimei Maritime Pandemic Control district committee issued a notice saying that when fishermen return to their ports "both fishermen and their seafood must be tested".

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The all-caps COCOA we're talking about is the acronym for Japan's COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application. The government-administrated contact-tracing app was launched in June of 2020, but at a press conference on Tuesday Minister of Digital Affairs Taro Kono said that COCOA will be shutting down. Though COCOA got off to a slow start, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno says that it was eventually downloaded approximately 40 million times. The smartphone app worked by coordinating with the phones of other users, creating an anonymous list of those you had been in close proximity with for more than 15 minutes, then notifying everyone in that chain if someone reported testing positive for the coronavirus. Kono claims, though, that the need for such close monitoring has sufficiently decreased compared to two years ago. He also acknowledged that the app itself did not always work as intended, with reported failures to properly notify users who had been in contact with someone later found to be infected, and that a thorough review of COCOA's effectiveness will be performed in order to make improvements should another pandemic occur in the future that necessitates a new contact-tracing app.

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For those with coronavirus symptoms, the home recuperation period has been reduced from 10 to seven days. And for asymptomatic patients, it has been reduced from seven to five days, on condition that the patient tests negative for the virus. After this period, they can resume normal social activities such as work, school and shopping. However, the characteristics of the coronavirus have not changed, meaning that society as a whole assumes the risk. According to data from Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases and other bodies, the risk of infecting others remains for 10 days after the onset of symptoms. Although the amount of virus particles shed by infected people is reduced to one-sixth on the seventh day and later compared to the early stages of the illness, at least 16% of those who have been out of isolation after seven days still have the virus.

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Those aged 60 and older and medical workers yet to receive their fourth shots will be given priority, with eligibility to be expanded from around mid-October to those aged 12 and above and vaccinated at least twice. The government also plans to start workplace vaccinations in late October. The distribution of the updated vaccines comes as national infection numbers continue on a downward trend from their August peak. The central government plans to provide the shots, which are free of charge, to all who want them by the end of the year, ahead of the highly infectious year-end and New Year period. Local governments will be able to bring forward the scheduling at their discretion. The boosters, which are made by U.S. pharmaceutical firms Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc and tailored to the BA.1 subvariant, were approved for production and sale in Japan by the health ministry last week. According to a Kyodo News survey, 80 percent of the capital cities of the nation's 47 prefectures have said they would begin vaccinations by the end of this month.

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