Expert meeting “Thorough reduction of contact opportunities” It is necessary to control infection during consecutive holidays

In the fourth wave of the spread of the new coronavirus, a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo, and Kyoto, and an expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was held to advise on countermeasures.

The number of infected people is increasing not only in the Kansai region and the Greater Tokyo area, but also in many areas, the number of seriously ill people is increasing rapidly, and the number of deaths is also increasing. It is said that it is necessary to suppress the infection inside.

Expert meetings show that the number of new infections is increasing at a slower rate in the current situation, but in many areas the number of infected people is increasing, the number of severely ill people is increasing rapidly, and the number of people dying is increasing. "In the future, if the spread of infection to the elderly progresses, it is highly likely that the number of severely ill people will increase further," he warns.

Especially in Kansai, while the number of people in the downtown area has decreased and the number of infected people has remained high, the virus with the highly infectious "N501Y" mutation has replaced the conventional virus with about 80%. It is estimated that the number of newly infected people is high in all age groups, mainly in their 20s and 30s.

Also, regarding the medical system, the number of newly infected people will be increased in order to protect the system that can receive the necessary medical care because the number of cases where emergency transportation becomes difficult and it is inevitable to limit general medical care. He emphasized the need to reduce.

On the other hand, in the Tokyo metropolitan area, although a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo, the number of people at night has tended to stop declining, and the number of infected people has continued to increase for more than a month, and medical treatment and hospitalization at facilities are being adjusted. The number of people in Japan has begun to increase, and there is concern that the burden on the medical system will increase in the future.

In other regions as well, the proportion of viruses with the "N501Y" mutation has reached about 60% in Aichi Prefecture, and clusters of mutant viruses are occurring frequently. In addition, Fukuoka Prefecture and other parts of Kyushu have seen a rapid increase since the middle of this month. Is seen, and there is concern that it will expand rapidly throughout Kyushu.

At expert meetings, the infection tends to spread nationwide among active generations who are active mainly in their 20s and 30s, and not only in restaurants, but also in various places such as workplaces, club activities, and club activities. Infection has been reported.

As infections in the workplace are becoming more prominent, even those who work in non-regular employment, including those who work in non-regular employment, should establish a system that allows them to receive medical examinations with peace of mind when they feel symptoms, and use telework to go to work. We are requesting strengthening measures such as restraint.

For this reason, the expert meeting called for a wide range of measures to reduce contact, such as curbing the number of people and moving across prefectures, saying that it is necessary to capture the period of the Golden Week holidays and curb infection.

In addition, the expert meeting said that at this stage, there is no clear tendency for the spread of infection under the age of 15 regarding the effects of the mutant virus, and it is not recognized that the number of infected children is significantly high. However, regarding the indication that the rate of aggravation is high, in Osaka, mildly ill people are no longer diagnosed, and the rate of aggravation may be high, so it is necessary to continue to pay attention. ..

Chair Wakita "Reduce the movement of declarations and priority measures involving the region"

Takaji Wakita, chairman of the expert meeting, said at a press conference held after the meeting, "The number of infected people is increasing in various places such as Hokkaido and Kyushu. From now on, there will be movements that cross prefectural borders during the long holidays. It's time to become more active. It is necessary to curb movement involving areas where priority measures such as emergency declarations and prevention of spread have been issued. "

In addition, regarding the mutant virus found in India, "It has not been fully investigated how much the infectivity is stronger than the virus with the mutation of N501Y spreading in Kansai etc. and how much it affects the effect of the vaccine. Although there is a fairly rapid increase in India, it seems that the number of people was quite high, so I think that it is not the effect of the mutant virus alone. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases also provides accurate information such as epidemiology and clinical practice. I want to analyze it based on that. "