Japan grapples with more contagious variant

Apr 29, 2021 | News On Japan

Apr 29, 2021 (NHK) - In Japan officials are grappling with rising coronavirus cases as Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures remain under a state of emergency. Experts blame the surge on a more infectious variant.

Tokyo officials confirmed 925 new infections on Wednesday. It's the first time in three months that the daily tally has topped 900. 53 people in the capital are in serious condition.

Experts monitoring the situation in Tokyo say a more transmissible variant with the N501Y mutation accounted for more than half of infections earlier this month. The strain was first detected in the UK.

Experts estimate that the variant now accounts for more than 80 percent of new cases in the Osaka area.

Officials in the western prefecture confirmed a record 1,260 new cases on Wednesday.

Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi said, "We are facing a completely different situation because of the variant. Our medical system is under extremely serious strain."

All hospital beds allocated for serious COVID-19 patients in Osaka are occupied. Ahead of a weeklong holiday starting on Thursday, authorities asked five university hospitals in the prefecture to postpone operations and secure more beds for coronavirus patients.

Nationwide, officials are urging people to stay home during the holiday in order to stay safe.

And the head of the government's advisory panel has called for discussions on whether to hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as scheduled. They are currently set to begin in July and August.

The head of the advisory panel, Omi Shigeru, said, "The infection situation and the strain on the medical system are crucial factors. It's high time that we should take those elements into consideration and start discussing them in the context of the Games."

Across Japan health authorities confirmed more than 5,700 new infections on Wednesday. 48 deaths were reported.

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