Hokkaido Covid-19 increase alarms people
Kanako Mita and Sawako Utsumi
Modern Tokyo Times
The coronavirus crisis in Hokkaido, northern Japan, is rearing up again. Yet recent new infections are new all-time highs in this part of Japan. Therefore, the longevity of the situation and new fresh highs – along with the plummeting temperature – is generating real concern.
If you look at the numbers of new daily infections reaching slightly over 100 per day, then it doesn’t seem alarming. However, when you focus on the numbers of tests taken, the picture changes because this equates to roughly ten percent of people tested (just below or higher depending on the day in recent days).
Hence, the real picture is more problematic in Hokkaido. Thus the Governor of Hokkaido, Suzuki Naomichi, uttered, “We are deeply alarmed by this danger. Winter is coming, so this is a crucial time as we work to keep the outbreak in check.”
A few days earlier, he said, “It is extremely important to contain the pandemic at this stage to keep both the economy and social activities going.”
At the moment, the five-tier alert level scale is currently at two. Yet, if infections keep on increasing – or remaining at similar numbers over the next few days and weeks – the alert level will increase to three.
The city of Sapporo is the main concern but with the “Go To Travel” campaign enticing people to travel to Hokkaido, the fear persists that the coronavirus may spread to other areas. Therefore, it is important to enact a balanced approach – while cutting off areas of infections to contain the latest surge of new infections in Hokkaido.
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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