- 8 Aug 2005
- 7,316
- 3,727
This appears to be a specific term used in healthcare, with the definition as mentioned (by one expert) in the article
COVID-19 cases in Japan are continuing their recent rise and taking a toll on the elderly in particular, with experts predicting the trend will continue amid high heat, declining population-level immunity and the start of the holiday season. Health ministry statistics released Friday showed Japan's ninth wave of coronavirus infections is continuing, with the average number of new cases reported by around 5,000 designated medical institutions in the week through July 9 standing at 9.14, up from 7.24 a week before.
The number of new hospital admissions for COVID-19 is also rising, standing at 6,096 in the week through July 9, up from 5,494 a week before and 4,484 four weeks before. Cases were seen rising in 45 of the nation's 47 prefectures, but the increases stand out in western Japan. Okinawa continues to see by far the highest number of patients per institution, at 41.67, though that is down slightly from 48.39 a week before. The Kyushu region has seen major increases, particularly in Kagoshima (17.18), Miyazaki (16), Saga (15.33) and Kumamoto (11.99) prefectures.
I've been riding the train without no mask I had to go to two hospitals and of course I wore the mask within the last 10 days actually and on this island of shikoku very few people were wearing mask although the elderly people they were wearing masks I'm done I have to go to the general hospital in Kochi which is the biggest hospital in Kochi and it was completely filled with people I don't know the problems whether it's covid or not but I was able to go in and get treatment and leave very quickly for some odd reason especially when there's like 200 people in the waiting room ahead of me and it was just I'm lost for words but I myself of course I'm worried about getting ill and on my travels because it can really knock me out but I don't let it stop me and I don't know how it works this virus three nights ago two nights ago two nights ago I said I'm going to celebrate my finish of 22 days of writing and this island so I went to a bar next to the hotel that I was actually sleeping at that night and it was jam-packed everybody's laughing talking and everything and I was drinking and having a good time and people didn't seem worried at all and Thomas I hope your wife gets gets fine very quickly please I really mean it and for you please recover also the colvin if you read the Lancent journals, it has a lot of information about the covid virus for the last 4 years. I might have spelled it wrong but it's this people in this form will know it especially if they're in the medical community.I started working last Wednesday and have been on the bicycle twice since then, but things are definitely slower than usual. My wife has been more severely affected, with her fever going unabated for over four days. I wish I could have avoided taking crowded trains.
Infection numbers have been increasing in the past nine weeks, and Japan's Dr Fauci, Omi-sensei, has warned of a ninth wave. I wonder what's the situation elsewhere. Are rising infections just ignored?
Japan sees COVID patients rising for 9th straight week
The average number of COVID-19 patients among designated hospitals across Japan has been rising for nine consecutive weeks since the coronavirus was downgraded to the same category as seasonal influenza in May, health ministry data showed Friday.english.kyodonews.net
EG.5, a mutated version of omicron subvariant XBB.1.9.2, was first discovered in February and has been reported in 51 countries, including the U.S., South Korea, China, Australia, Singapore and Britain, according to the World Health Organization. Last week, the WHO designated EG.5 and its sublineages as "a variant of interest," upgrading them from the "variant under monitoring" label it gave in July.
In case anyone still cares: the new coronavirus variant EG.5 gains momentum in Japan.
New coronavirus variant EG.5 gains momentum in Japan
The prevalence of EG.5, called Eris by health experts, nearly doubled in July to account for 22% of cases in Tokyo.www.japantimes.co.jp
What we know about the Covid variant EG.5 dubbed 'Eris'
The World Health Organization has declared a new sub-variant of Covid called EG.5 - unofficially named "Eris" - a variant of interest and is asking countries to monitor it as cases grow globally.www.rnz.co.nz
Mrs Lothor currently has it, and so may I, though I feel ok at the moment.
BA.2.86, yet another new coronavirus subvariant that is a heavily mutated version of the omicron variant, has been detected in Japan for the first time. While there's no evidence that it causes more severe illness, experts say it may be more capable of infecting people previously infected with the coronavirus or vaccinated with older versions of COVID-19 shots. The news comes as the number of new cases grows in Japan amid what is widely considered a ninth wave of coronavirus infections.
Though there is no evidence that EG.5 causes more severe symptoms than other sub-variants of the Omicron strain, experts say the new variant may more easily evade the immune system. [...] COVID-19 cases in Japan are gradually rising, with EG.5 spreading within the country since around July, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. A new branch of EG.5 called EG.5.1 made up 29 per cent of 200 COVID-19 cases recorded in the week from 7 to 13 August. The figure is expected to jump to 58 per cent in the week that started on 11 September. In Tokyo, the first domestic case of yet another spinoff of the Omicron variant was reported. The new variant, called BA.2.86, was detected from a hospital test in late August, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced on 7 September. An offshoot of the BA.2 variant, which was a globally dominant variant in 2022, the new variant has more than 30 mutations on the spike protein compared to its original lineage. There is no evidence so far that BA.2.86 causes more severe symptoms. However, the new variant may be capable of evading antibody immunity created after vaccination and infection.
Everyone age 6 months old or over is eligible for the new vaccine. However, the government is actively promoting the shot only to those age 65 and older and to those with underlying health conditions, as the risk of developing severe symptoms through infection is higher for them than the rest of the population. Those who received a shot during the spring booster drive — available only to people over 65 and those at higher risk — can get one if three months have passed from their last shot.
Between Sept. 11 and 17, the average national influenza case count rose to over 7.03 per medical institution from just 4.48 the week prior, according to the health ministry's most recent weekly report released Friday. Overall, 34,665 cases were reported, compared with just 111 during the same period last year. The previous week, the ministry's reported overall case count was 22,111. Okinawa Prefecture had the highest average count with over 20 cases. The quick rise in cases over the past few weeks has triggered the prefecture's "influenza advisory" for the first time in four years after the count surpassed the advisory issuance threshold of 10 cases. During the week through Sept. 10, the average count was 13.43, with young people accounting for around 75% of cases.
Following Okinawa were Ehime, Saga, Chiba and Tokyo prefectures. Tokyo also issued an influenza alert last week after surpassing the 10-case threshold, reaching 11.37. At her regular news conference on Friday, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike encouraged continuing infection prevention measures, such as proper ventilation, handwashing and mask-wearing, to prevent both the flu and COVID-19. "This (figure) suggests a high likelihood of a significant outbreak occurring within the next four weeks," Koike said.