Coronavirus pandemic in Okinawa “looks to be past its peak” says MHLW advisory board chairman

Coronavirus pandemic in Okinawa “looks to be past its peak” says MHLW advisory board chairman

Kokusai-dori in Naha


January 27, 2022 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Yosuke Anri

 

Tokyo – Takaji Wakita, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare coronavirus advisory board chairman, announced January 26 that the coronavirus pandemic in Okinawa “appears to have passed its peak.” He indicated that pandemic policies such as the “semi-state of emergency COVID-19 measures” were successful.

The effective reproduction number of the virus, which shows how many people a single infected person could spread the virus to, fell below a value of 1 last week to 0.8, which he views as “achieving a slight downward trend.”

By age group, cases for people in their 20’s are seeing a downward trend, however there is still an upward trend for underage people (under 20), and for those over 60, and Wakita commented “we still need to be cautious of the situation for a little longer.”

Wakita said at a press conference after the board meeting, he indicated a cautious stance with regards to the early termination of the semi-state of emergency COVID-19 measures, stating, “The speed at which this is resolving is slow. If we do not keep a careful watch of the situation a little while longer, it will be hard to determine.”

 

(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)

 

Go to Japanese


　


Previous Article:
Next Article:

[Similar Articles]