A panel of experts and Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials met on Thursday for a weekly assessment of the coronavirus situation in the capital.
The panel decided to maintain both the infection situation for Tokyo and its medical system at the highest alert level of 4.
The expert pointed out that the seven-day average of new cases in Tokyo has risen to 1,699 from the previous average of 1,029. That's an increase of 65 percent.
He said Tokyo has never had a weekly increase of 65 percent before. He expressed a strong sense of crisis, saying that this rate of increase raises the possibility of explosive growth occurring.
The expert warned that at the current rate, the daily number of new cases would increase by a factor of 1.7 in a week, and that in two weeks, the number of new hospitalizations is projected to exceed 4,000 -- the total number of hospital beds set aside for COVID-19 patients.
The expert said the situation in Tokyo has become so serious that the number of new cases is starting to exceed capacity at hospitals as well as designated hotels for people who have mild or no symptoms. He said the situation is very serious, with the medical system for non-coronavirus patients also being overwhelmed. He stressed that the number of new cases of the coronavirus must be thoroughly curbed.
Another expert said that to prevent the healthcare system in Tokyo from collapsing, it is vitally important to reduce the number of new infections, and in particular, the number of serious cases.
He said the spike in new infections in Tokyo is overwhelming the ability of public health centers to find hospitals that can accept COVID-19 patients.
He explained that since January 6, public health centers have referred more than 400 new patients a day to the Metropolitan Government for help in finding hospitals for them. The expert said that in many of these cases, patients were not able to be hospitalized until at least the following day.
As of now there are lots of clinic and medical facilities here in Japan offering a coronavirus test. Some are very affordable and some are still expensive.
(Malago Forum)
A familiar Japanese idiom goes nakitsura ni hachi (a bee stinging a crying face). In other words adding insult to injury, or to make matters worse. (Japan Today)
Japan's Crown Prince Akishino has made an online inspection of hospitals treating coronavirus patients.
(NHK)
A Japanese research team says the "Go To" travel campaign launched last July may have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus in its initial phase.
(NHK)
Automakers in Japan, where almost 30% of the population is 65 or older, are taking the lead on adapting cars so the nation's legions of elderly drivers can feel more confident -- and be safer -- behind the wheel.
(nwaonline.com)
Japan's space agency has allowed the media to see the first and second stages of the country's next mainstay H3 rocket.
(NHK)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred late at night on Saturday 23 January 2021 at 10:12 pm local time near Iwaki, Iwaki-shi, Fukushima, Japan, as reported by NIED. (JS Media)
The source of nocturia, frequent nighttime urination, the number one problem for many seniors, is not what you think it could be! (NHK)
We as a whole know how simple it is to get exhausted at work, get up to speed in the mood of the day, extended periods in the workplace, and nothing new.
(newsonjapan.com)
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it has begun clinical trials in Japan of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by U.S. biotech firm Moderna Inc. with an eye to distributing it in the first half of this year. (Kyodo)
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. (rnz.co.nz)
Japan's government has signed a contract with US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer to receive about 144 million doses of coronavirus vaccine for 72 million people this year.
(NHK)
People in many parts of Japan have reported seeing what appeared to be a fireball flashing through the sky on Wednesday night.
(NHK)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says about 20 percent of people confirmed infected with the new coronavirus in recent months were asymptomatic when they tested positive.
(NHK)
Indeed, Netflix is among the most prominent online streaming services. (newsonjapan.com)
Skyrocketing numbers of people on waiting lists for hospitalization underline how officials are now being forced to limit medical care to the most critically ill COVID-19 patients amid bed shortages, with the vast majority of less urgent cases consigned into unsupervised home care. (Japan Times)
Researchers from the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design in Tokyo have created a robotic tail for humans. (Strange Things)
Japan's health ministry says three people in the country have been confirmed to be infected with a new strain of the coronavirus now prevalent in Britain. (NHK)
Japanese experts are warning the current wave of coronavirus infections is putting increasing strain on the medical system in the capital.
(NHK)
An expert warns that Tokyo has been experiencing an unprecedentedly rapid increase in new cases of the coronavirus and explosive growth could occur.
(NHK)