Mar 03, 2020 (Japan Times) - Japan is becoming a center of concern as the coronavirus spreads globally, with the country’s official infection tally suspected to be the tip of the iceberg of a much wider outbreak.
As of Monday afternoon, Japan had 263 confirmed cases of the pneumonia-causing virus, excluding those from the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined for weeks in Yokohama bay. In neighboring South Korea, however, infections have swelled rapidly, reaching more than 4,000 after the government tested tens of thousands of people to get a clearer picture of the deadly outbreak.
That divergence has experts — and members of the public — concerned about Japan’s approach to diagnosis.
“For every one who tests positive there are probably hundreds with mild symptoms,†said Masahiro Kami, chair of the Medical Governance Research Institute in Tokyo, and a practicing doctor. “Those with mild symptoms are not being tested.â€
While the government says it has the capacity to do 3,800 tests a day, only 5,700 were actually carried out from Feb. 18 to 23, health minister Katsunobu Kato told the Diet on Wednesday. That included the tests on all aboard the Diamond Princess, where Japan’s attempt to quarantine the ship resulted in an explosion of more than 700 infections.
Japan’s low level of confirmed infections has enabled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to maintain a relatively relaxed stance on the outbreak compared with South Korea and China, where more than 80,000 cases and over 2,900 deaths have been recorded.
Unlike other countries in the region, Japan has only imposed partial bans on people from highly infected nations — including China — and Abe has encouraged, but not enforced, the cancellation of major public events. Despite the government’s request for people to work remotely from home or stagger their commutes, however, many in Tokyo continue to board packed trains. As public criticism mounted, Abe last week asked all schools to temporarily close, starting Monday.
