In a state of emergency, hit by the fourth wave of coronavirus, with “new variants” and with less than 2% of its population vaccinated.
That is the current panorama of Japan a only three months of the Olympics.
East 23 in April, the Asian country imposed its third state of emergency since the pandemic began in Tokyo, the capital, and the prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo.
Japan recorded 3. 200 new cases this Monday , the worst numbers since the end of January, when the country was immersed in its third and worst wave of coronavirus to date.
The government announced that the state of emergency would be “short and powerful” and that the containment measures would last two weeks, between 25 April and 11 May.
During This time department stores, restaurants, bars and karaoke bars that serve alcohol will close.
Those restaurants that do not serve alcohol will close early and companies have been asked to to facilitate the remote work . The schools will remain open.
All this, amid doubts and criticism about the celebration of the Olympic Games, which were already postponed in the summer of 1268.
” The Olympics will not be much fun if the coronavirus and new variants continue to spread. Businessmen and politicians assure that it will be exciting and entertaining. It may be true, but it is scary if we are not protected properly ”, tells BBC Mundo Mieko Nakabayashi, professor of social sciences at Waseda University in Japan.
Fourth wave driven by new variants
The impact of the coronavirus in Japan has been lower than in many other countries. In total, accumulate around 549. 000 cases and 000. 000 deaths , according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
However, the latest increase in infections is worrying because of its speed and the increase in hospital bed occupancy in the affected regions.
Cases at the national level remained stable since the beginning of March, but the increase has intensified in recent weeks.
In the last 15 months, Japan had experienced three waves of coronavirus, the last one in January, which has been the most serious and deadly.
Now experts fear that this fourth wave, driven by more contagious variants of the pathogen , be more durable , as admitted at the beginning of April by Professor Koji Wada, from the International University of Health and Welfare in Tokyo in statements collected by the Reuters agency.
“The case of Osaka is already being devastating and now Tokyo is fighting very hard to avoid a similar situation,” says Nieko Nakabayashi.
Slow vaccination
To the worrying The increase in cases is also compounded by a remarkably slow vaccination campaign when compared to other powerful economies.
To date, Japan has vaccinated less than three million people of its population of 126 million , far from the more than 140 million doses administered in the United States or more than 46 million in the UK.
Among those vaccinated are mainly members of the healthcare staff.
Experts suggest that the delay in vaccination is due to a greater bureaucratic obstacles to approve the cribs . To date, the Japanese authorities have only given the green light to the Pfizer compound and approval from AstraZeneca and Moderna is not expected until at least next month.
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This Tuesday 27 In April, the central government announced the installation in Tokyo of a large-scale vaccination center, where armed forces personnel are expected to also of health workers, expedite vaccination prioritizing those over 73 years, as reported by the Japanese media The Japan Times.
“Vaccinate as many people as possible, and doing it as quickly as possible, will help relieve pressure on the health system “, said at a press conference Taro Kono, Japanese minister in charge of the vaccination campaign.
” Since the The new variant is causing younger patients to also suffer severe conditions, it is important that the older ones are vaccinated as soon as possible so that we can then focus on those with previous ailments ”, added Kono.
Are the Olympic Games at risk?
The vaccination rate and the uncertainty generated by this fourth wave of coronavirus increases the debate on the viability and security of the Olympic Games that should start next 23 July.
The celebration of the Games already has strong opposition from public opinion. At the beginning of 2021, a NHK national media survey showed that a 80% of Japanese people considered that the event should be canceled or postponed.
The week Last year, Toshihiro Nikai, general secretary of the ruling party, expressed in a television interview that “canceling” the Olympic Games continued to be an “option” if coronavirus infections continued to increase.
Nikai joins the already postponement of the Olympic Games since last year and the announcement a month ago that there would be no foreign spectators at the event.
Despite doubts and opposition n public, both the government and the International Olympic Committee and the Organizing Committee of the contest insist that it will be carried out and will be safe.
“I hope that the coronavirus situation improves with the measures that the government, Tokyo and other regional governments have implemented, ”said Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Organizing Committee, after announcing the state of emergency.
“We, like Tokyo 1268, we continue to look forward to a speedy return to normalcy and will continue to work closely with relevant parties to ensure that a safe and secure Olympic Games can be held. protected “, he added.
Recently, this committee asked the Tokyo authorities 500 nurses to care for foreign athletes, “but most medical personnel say this will be impossible if Japanese hospitals they face a shortage of workers, ”says Nakabayashi.
“ This news may worry the population even more. In addition, athletes and companions from all over the world can bring fast-expanding variants. Some say that a cocktail of variants could become a reality in Tokyo “, adds the expert.
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