Tokyo – As a graph of Tokyo and the surrounding area new terrifying levels of COVID-19 infection, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has declared a state of emergency in the region for the second time since the pandemic began. The latest viral rise, with nearly 1,000 new cases in Tokyo on Thursday, is fueled by winter temperatures that cause people to gather indoors, adding to the government’s efforts to restart economic activity. with a national tourism promotion campaign now halted.
The latest statement on the state of emergency (SOE) is very targeted and only covers Tokyo and the three surrounding prefectures, which account for half of Japan. coronavirus cases. Urbanized western and central Japan can later be added to the order.
The new rules
SOE restrictions this time are aimed primarily at the food industry.
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Koji Wada, a public health expert who advises the government on its response to the coronavirus, told CBS News that “eating and chatting is the most risky activity.” Bars and restaurants will be asked to close at 8pm for the duration of the SOE, which is currently scheduled to run until February 7th.
Restaurants will be eligible for grants of up to approximately $ 600. Companies that do not comply with the rules can be publicly named and embarrassed.
Residents of the affected areas will be asked to avoid all non-essential departures and, if possible, to work from home.
This time, schools are exempt from SOE and will allow Internet cafes, sports gyms and even karaoke studios, which in recent months have managed to remain relatively free of COVID, apparently thanks to ventilation, updates of hygiene and greater awareness among customers. to stay open, albeit with shorter hours. Digital carbon dioxide sensors, which can assess room ventilation, are selling out quickly.
There is widespread support for restrictions in Japan. Separate online surveys conducted on January 6 by Japan Trend Research and Yahoo Japan found that between 72% and 80% of respondents were in favor of the latest SOE, with less than 10% against .
Japan’s sense of crisis may seem difficult to understand in the United States, where the impact of the pandemic is different order of magnitude – So far, Japan has only suffered about 1% of as many infections and deaths as the US. But the rise in cases is already overwhelming the Japanese healthcare infrastructure.
“The collapse of the medical system is already occurring in some areas,” Dr. Wada said. “Other patients: ischemic [stroke] and cancer cases: they have trouble finding treatment. ”
Too little and too late?
Incredibly, Japan, a country with a third of the U.S. population, has about the same number of hospital beds. However, authorities, trapped in complacency over Japan’s success in tackling infections last year, were not adequately prepared for the winter increase in patients, according to the business newspaper Nikkei.
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Tokyo has announced that it will add 500 more hospital beds specifically to treat patients with COVID-19 and the city will rent an additional hotel to accommodate mild and asymptomatic cases.
The popularity of Prime Minister Suga has faded under accusations of having acted too late to deal with the current spread of infections.
“Now the government is starting to use the hammer,” Drs. Wada, “but we don’t know if it will fix that wave.”
Hiroshi Nishiura, an expert in computer modeling of infectious diseases, published a projection that shows that unless Japan adopts the broader restrictions it used to drastically reduce human contacts with last spring, and unless that closure stays in place for two months, cases will flatten but remain at high levels, surpassing 1,000 a day.
Olympic dreams
About six months before the scheduled start of the program delayed the Tokyo Olympics, the new SOE has raised more doubts about whether the Games can be held without causing a new wave of infections.
There are also concerns about whether a uniform international level of play is possible, given the large gap in which different countries are expected to receive vaccines.