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Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called an emergency government meeting on Thursday, but no further planned measures have been announced so far.
“The growth trend is obvious. I take this very seriously, “Yuga told reporters, urging people to wear masks, wash their hands more frequently, and avoid unnecessary meetings and travel.
“Once again, I have instructed the ministers to take all measures to ensure an adequate health care system in coordination with local governments during these holidays,” he said.
“Scanpix” / AP nuotr./Yoshihide Suga
A record 1,377 new cases were reported in the Japanese capital on Thursday, 1,377. The previous record for COVID-19 was recorded last Saturday, with 949 confirmed cases during the day.
Local media reports that more than 4,000 people have been diagnosed across the country every day. new cases of infection, also mainly since the beginning of the pandemic.
The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, has warned that “the situation is extremely serious” due to the rapid increase in morbidity.
“The end of the year and the celebration of the New Year do not matter to the Coronavirus,” he told reporters.
In Japan, the COVID-19 outbreak is relatively small compared to the rest of the world. Since January, when the first case of coronavirus infection was detected in Japan, just under 3,500 people have died from COVID-19 in the country.
Japan, unlike many other states, managed to dispense with a strict quarantine, even though the government had declared a state of emergency in the spring, urging companies to stop operations and asking residents to stay home. .
However, these measures were of an advisory nature and no sanctions were imposed for non-compliance. A few weeks later, when the number of new registered infections decreased, these measures were lifted.
The incidence of COVID-19 in the summer was low, but the sharp increase in the spread of the disease in recent weeks has caused great concern among officials and medical experts. There have been calls for a state of emergency to be re-declared, although the government is delaying taking tougher measures without wanting to further damage the pandemic-affected economy.
Scanpix “nuotr./Japonai per koronaviruso pandemiją
If the number of newly recorded coronavirus infections continues to rise, the city “may have no choice but to ask the central government to declare a state of emergency,” the Tokyo governor said.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, in charge of the government’s response to the pandemic, also warned Wednesday that if morbidity continues to rise, an emergency may be necessary to “protect the lives of the Japanese people.”
“The medical system will not hold,” he said in a video address.
Y.Suga, who replaced the resigned Shinzo Abe as prime minister this fall, has come under fire for his government’s response to the third wave of the pandemic, including his support for a controversial program to promote domestic tourism.
During the festive period, when many Japanese travel to meet their loved ones, the program was suspended and government officials urged people to stay home.
Medical experts have for many weeks expressed concern that the country’s health care system is approaching its limits.
Former Transport Minister Yuichiro Hata, who was infected with the coronavirus, died earlier this week. He became the first high-ranking Japanese politician to die from COVID-19.
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