![]() “The Japanese public has been complying so well until now.” “They could have done much more effective measures to control Covid under the current law,” said Shibuya, a former director of the Institute for Population Health at King’s College London. Kenji Shibuya, an expert in infectious diseases, said that even without legal changes the outbreak could be slowed by more testing and the wider use of hotels to isolate patients. Serious cases climbed to records of 276 in Tokyo and 1,646 nationally on Tuesday. More than 80% of Tokyo’s critical care beds are occupied, and the rate is already 100% in neighbouring Kanagawa prefecture. As of 11 August more than 74,000 people were isolating at home, the health ministry said, 13 times the number a month earlier. The fifth wave of infections is placing strain on hospital beds, forcing the government to ask people with “mild” symptoms to recuperate at home, despite evidence that the policy results in deaths among people whose condition rapidly deteriorates. The government will ask large shopping malls and department stores to limit the number of customers inside at one time. About 40% of establishments in some parts of Tokyo are ignoring the rules, according to Japanese media. The measures have failed to stop infections soaring as the more transmissible Delta variant takes hold, prompting calls for the government to revise laws to enable it to impose restrictions that more closely resemble the stricter lockdowns seen in other countries.Ĭurrently authorities can only request that bars and restaurants stop serving alcohol and close early, using a combination of subsidies and fines to encourage compliance. They had originally been scheduled to end on 31 August. ![]() The emergency measures cover nearly 60% of Japan’s population and will run until 12 September. While government officials and scientists continue to disagree on whether the Olympics contributed to the latest surge, preparations for the Paralympics are continuing amid a state of emergency in Tokyo that will still be in place after the games have ended. Tokyo recorded 5,386 cases the same day – slightly lower than its all-time high of 5,773 last Friday – but medical experts said low rates of testing meant the actual number could be much higher.
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