Covid-19 cases on the increase again in Japan: Flu season soon to begin

Covid-19 cases on the increase again in Japan: Flu season soon to begin

Sawako Utsumi and Kanako Mita

Modern Tokyo Times

The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in Japan continues to ebb and flow from low infections to a sudden increase. Thus, it looks like another period where parts of the country will witness another spell of high infections.

Yesterday, Tokyo logged 317 new infections. Hence the highest level since late August. Meanwhile, in recent days, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Osaka, Saitama, and other parts of Japan have reached new highs.

To make matters worse, the flu season will soon begin throughout Japan. Thus the psychological angle for people working in areas hit the hardest will increase. Likewise, any general cold will set off alarm bells for people throughout the wider society.

Even now, the real extent of infections in Japan is debatable based on few tests being taken compared with many nations. Hence, with the government of Japan seeking to maintain economic activity – and the same applies to local governments – it appears to be a managed approach.

However, with the flu season on the horizon then more tests should be ramped up during the following months. Thus despite the first coronavirus case emerging in the middle of January, the real crisis didn’t fully emerge until March. Therefore, this will be the first period in Japan where the flu season and the coronavirus will be among the general public at the same time.

Katsunobu Kato, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, uttered, “In the regions experiencing a surge in new infections, it’s necessary that we significantly increase testing capacity as well as deploy experts and medical workers to provide assistance.”

People who can do telework must be allowed to work from home – or at least to rapidly reduce days at the office during the following months. At the same time, greater vigilance and support for the most vulnerable in society must be enacted.

https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/ – Tokyo Metropolitan Government website for updates about the coronavirus crisis in Tokyo.

https://toyokeizai.net/sp/visual/tko/covid19/en.html – Japan and Tokyo Covid-19 news with more analysis

https://covid19japan.com/ – Japan regional coronavirus statistics

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ World coronavirus statistics

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