Jan 21 (Reuters) - Japan on Friday acted to contain a record surge in COVID-19 cases with a return to curbs that have however shown diminishing results, while a laggard vaccine booster programme leaves many people vulnerable to breakthrough infections.
The government empowered authorities in Tokyo and 12 other prefectures to implement curbs on mobility and business activity - measures that, with three prefectures already under such devolved restrictions, now cover half of Japan's population.
The highly infectious Omicron variant has driven the current wave of cases, and nationwide infections hit an all-time high of around 46,000 on Thursday.
Japan has declared various levels of emergency multiple times during the two-year pandemic, also including orders for shortened operating hours in bars and restaurants and the banning of alcohol sales.
But studies of cell phone traffic, train usage and other mobility data suggest levels of compliance by the public have steadily decreased.
"I think it is not a big deal, this Omicron," 73-year-old retiree Norio Oikawa told Reuters. "The number of deaths is very low. I think it's like a common cold, or influenza."
While Omicron is much more infectious than previous variants it appears to cause less serious illness. But public health experts still worry that a wave of such cases could still overwhelm the healthcare system.
Japan has fully vaccinated almost 80% of its population, but an increasing number of them are vulnerable to breakthrough infections as they got their shots more than six months ago. A booster programme that would help immunise them against the fast-moving variant has reached less than 2%.
