Nov 07 (Nikkei) - As the climb in the global count of COVID-19 cases further dampens hopes for a return to normal life, it has underlined a huge challenge facing Japan, which is set to host the Summer Olympics in eight months' time, experts at an infectious disease conference hosted by Nikkei and the FT have said.
In Japan, the number of new infections on Thursday exceeded 1,000 for the first time since late August, as the virus has spread from Tokyo to other major cities such as Sapporo in the north and Osaka in the west. The increase came as the government of new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has promoted domestic travel in an effort to offset the loss of inbound tourism.
In Europe, the U.K., France and Germany have introduced new nationwide lockdowns, with bars and restaurants closed and citizens asked to stay at home, in the wake of a second wave of infections since October that is much larger than the first wave in March and April.
Scientists blamed the new outbreak in Europe on a new variant that originated in Spain and has been spread across the region by holidaymakers since the summer months.
Japan's first wave started in March and was caused mostly by travelers returning from Europe, said Yasuhiro Suzuki, adviser to Japan's health minister, during the symposium. One of the questions facing Japanese policymakers was whether that spread could have been prevented, he said, and what needed to be done now as the nation was getting ready for the Olympics.
"The athletes and their coaches and VIPs will be allowed in. The question is [over] international spectators, including those from the U.S. and Europe," Suzuki said. "How many should be allowed in? Will Japan have the capacity to test so many people? Will it be possible to put some limit on their activity while they are in Japan and [to enforce this]?"
One of the new challenges is the emergence of new strains of the virus, such as the one now spreading in Europe. Hiromitsu Tazawa, professor at Kyoto University Hospital, asked whether the current testing equipment in Japan was capable of detecting various strains of the coronavirus and whether more resources should be devoted to research in this area.
As Japan opened up its borders, it would also be important for the country to keep tabs on the health condition of its visitors, noted Nahoko Shindo, a senior adviser at the World Health Organization.
Japan still faces challenges even in collecting basic data, such as the number of cases. The health ministry has been collecting information from municipal governments every day by checking their announcements and by telephoning them. Communications between hospitals and local governments, via public health centers, have also been through analog channels, such as sending faxes.
A new digital system, known as HER-SYS, was introduced in May to share information online, but many hospitals are still not using it, according to Motoi Suzuki, director of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center at Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
HER-SYS was designed so that hospitals can enter the health status of each patient, including details such as when they were hospitalized after initially showing no symptoms. However, such detailed information is not yet entered into the system, according to Suzuki. "There is robust epidemiological information at the local level, but [this] cannot be handled systematically," he said.
