Despite all the strict measures, the Omicron variant has made its way to almost half of the prefectures in Japan. On Thursday, local government reports showed that 22 out of the total 47 prefectures had reported Omicron cases.
Talking in numbers, about 500 of the cases till now have been of the new Omicron variant. This made the authorities quite concerned since it’s the season of the Holidays and everyone will be traveling a lot.
Japanese President Fumio Kishida called on the public the day before to take additional measures to avoid the spread of coronavirus when people begin traveling throughout Japan to celebrate the holidays. The bright side of this is that most of the cases have been detected while the patients were in quarantine. However, few cases have made it into the wild in Tokyo and Osaka.
“As the spreading of Omicron type has been established, we would like to urge that you be more careful than usual to avoid a return of infections,” Kishida said in an interview posted via the Twitter account belonging to the Prime Minister’s Office.
He advised people to consider with caution whether to go back home to their communities during the time. If traveling, he suggested using preventive measures like wearing masks, washing your hands, and staying clear of those “three Cs” — closed spaces, crowds, and close-contact situations.
For those who host celebrations, Kishida asked them to organize them in small groups and in establishments that have certifications for vaccines.
今年一年、大変お世話になりました。
— 岸田文雄 (@kishida230) December 29, 2021
ありがとうございました。
この一年を振り返って、動画メッセージを作成しました。Twitterの動画はメイキング風の短いものですので、ぜひリンク先のYouTubeで全編をご覧いただければと思います。
📹https://t.co/qH1QxMAV2o
皆さん、よい新年をお迎えください。 pic.twitter.com/IGEgehjAI6
Coronavirus cases per day in Japan are declining Japan after reaching a high of 25,000 points this summer, with over 75 percent of Japan’s population being vaccinated with two shots.
This week, the national count was 502 cases, which was more than 500, for the very first time in more than two months.
On November 30th, the Japanese government has implemented strict border security measures to ensure international travel. They are preventing the entry of foreign nationals who are not residents and tightening quarantine requirements for Japanese citizens and foreign residents who recently traveled to specific regions or countries.
Kishida has announced that he will decide whether or not to relax border security procedures in line with the situation of infection during the New Year’s period.
Source: Mainichi.jp
Also read about Japan Registers Its First Omicron Variant Infection Case