The number of confirmed cases is hovering at a high level, and the Kishida government’s epidemic prevention measures are in limbo
Recently, the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Japan has continued to spread. The number of newly confirmed cases nationwide once exceeded 100,000, and the number of severe cases and deaths continued to increase. Fumio Kishida’s government’s anti-epidemic measures are in vain. At present, the only way to control the spread of the epidemic and prevent the medical system from collapsing is to speed up the progress of inoculation, raise the threshold for hospitalization and lower discharge standards for patients infected with the new crown, and extend “key measures such as spread prevention”.
100,000 new confirmed cases in a single day
On the 9th, there were 97,833 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia nationwide, 1,212 critically ill patients requiring intensive care beds or artificial ventilators, and 162 new deaths, a record high since the epidemic. There were 18,287 new confirmed cases in Tokyo that day, and more than 10,000 new confirmed cases in a single day for 16 consecutive days.
As the number of newly confirmed cases in Japan hovered around 100,000 in a single day for many days, the medical system was seriously under pressure.
Osaka Prefecture announced a “Medical Emergency Declaration” on the 8th, and plans to ensure that the elderly and critically ill patients can be hospitalized for treatment by encouraging hospital transfer and early discharge of hospitalized patients. Osaka Prefecture also asked medical institutions to increase beds as soon as possible, and to ensure the admission of new crown patients as much as possible by delaying non-emergency surgeries and restricting general medical treatment.
Aichi Prefecture revised the hospitalization criteria for new crown patients on the 7th. Regardless of whether the patient has underlying diseases, only those with moderate symptoms can be hospitalized. Aichi Prefecture also asked medical institutions to postpone non-essential surgeries.
Outside the medical system, Japanese educational institutions are also in disarray. According to information released by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as of the 7th, 777 kindergartens were temporarily closed in Japan due to the infection of teachers and staff, a new high since the epidemic.
In response to the domestic epidemic situation, Shigeru Omi, chairman of the Japanese government’s new coronavirus infection response team, said at the House of Representatives Budget Committee: “The number of infected people may not decrease sharply immediately, but gradually decrease or increase. In the worst case, because the Austrian With the emergence of the Mikron strain BA.2 subspecies, not only will the number of infected people not drop easily, it may increase.”
Due to the severe new crown epidemic in Japan, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 7th raised the travel warning level to Japan to level 4, the highest level, recommending Americans to avoid all travel activities to Japan, and be sure to travel if you must. Fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Daily vaccination plans to increase to 1 million doses
The continued spread of the epidemic in Japan has caused serious chaos in social life, including the medical system. In this regard, the Japanese government regards booster vaccination as one of the key measures to curb the epidemic.
On the 7th, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated at the meeting of the House Budget Committee on the booster vaccination of the new crown vaccine that the goal of 1 million doses of single-day vaccination should be achieved as soon as possible within this month. As of the 8th of this month, the national booster vaccination rate in Japan was only 7.22%, which is far lower than that of major countries in the world. The Japanese government has been criticized for this.
In order to achieve the goal of 1 million doses of vaccination per day, Japan plans to advance the vaccination work of local governments, and at the same time increase the scale of corporate vaccination and the vaccination of teachers and other essential workers. At present, the Japanese government is coordinating to advance the vaccination time for companies and schools from February 28 to 14.
The Japanese government also decided to increase the scale of vaccination at the large-scale vaccination venues operated by the Self-Defense Forces, expanding the number of daily vaccinations at the Osaka venue from the current 960 to 2,500, and increasing the number of daily vaccinations at the Tokyo venue to 5,000 on the 10th.
Some local governments are embarrassed by the Japanese government’s target of 1 million doses of daily inoculation. At the beginning of the sixth wave of the epidemic, dominated by the Omicron strain, the Japanese government once adhered to the policy that the interval between the booster injection and the second injection should be more than 8 months, but after the rapid expansion of the epidemic in January, The government shortened the interval from 8 months to 6 months, causing serious confusion in the vaccination system and vaccine deployment.
In addition to vaccines, the new crown oral drug developed by Japan’s Shionogi Pharmaceuticals is expected to be put into use in advance, becoming the first new crown oral drug put into use by a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Shionogi plans to submit an application for advance approval to the Japanese government and obtain approval for early use with conditions on the basis of submitting only the results of the second phase of the third phase of the clinical trial. If Shionogi’s new drug is put into use, the number of new coronavirus treatment drugs approved in Japan will increase to three.
Announced new countermeasures against the new crown epidemic
With the explosive growth of the number of new crown infections, Japan’s virus testing and medical treatment have exceeded the limit. In order to prevent the medical system from collapsing, the Japanese government has continuously raised the admission threshold for infected people, lowered the standards for discharge and virus testing, and prevented many people from receiving treatment and testing in a timely manner.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on the 8th new countermeasures for the new crown epidemic, focusing on encouraging people with moderate symptoms to shorten the hospital stay to 4 days. According to the new standard, if the infected person who does not reach severe and moderate symptoms no longer needs oxygen transfusion after being hospitalized for 4 days, the hospital will encourage the patient to discharge and recuperate in their own home or accommodation facility after the doctor judges that there is no risk of severe deterioration. Or transfer to a common hospital bed other than the new crown hospital bed.
According to statistics, in the week ending on the 6th, there were 5,469 incidents in Japan where the ambulance could not confirm the hospitalization for a short period of time after the condition of the new crown infected person deteriorated and the emergency call was made. The number of incidents hit a record high for 4 consecutive weeks. The new countermeasures are aimed at the fact that the majority of people infected with the Ormicon strain are mildly ill, and the medical system can continue to operate by allowing mildly infected people to be discharged as soon as possible. So far, this move has sparked a lot of controversy.
In addition to lowering the discharge standard, Japan has always implemented a high threshold for hospitalization for moderate symptoms and severe cases, keeping the vast majority of infected people out of the hospital. As of the 2nd, nearly 440,000 infected people in Japan were recuperating at home, and some of them continued to die because they could not receive treatment.
In terms of virus detection, the detection system in many places in Japan has collapsed due to the explosive increase in the number of infected people. At present, more than 20 places, including Tokyo and Osaka, have implemented the “deemed positive” system, which stipulates that family members who have close contact with the confirmed person, etc., after the body has symptoms such as fever, can be judged only by a doctor without examination. identified as infected. Some places also allow individuals to recuperate at home without being diagnosed by a medical institution after being diagnosed with a simple test kit. Under the “deemed positive” system, many suspected infected persons can only recuperate at home under the veil of anxiety because they cannot be diagnosed and take corresponding treatment measures.
In view of the fact that the number of newly infected people has remained at a high level for several days, the Japanese government decided on the 9th to extend the period of “key measures such as spread prevention” implemented in 13 places including Tokyo by three weeks from February 13 to March 6. (Reporter Ji Yong)