An expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was held to advise on measures against the new coronavirus, and the number of infected people continued to increase rapidly due to the replacement with Omicron strains, and the medical care provision system especially for mild and moderately ill patients was rapidly tightened. In the future, it was pointed out that the spread of infection to the elderly may lead to an increase in the number of severely ill people.

The expert meeting will be held on Omicron strains not only in urban areas such as the Tokyo metropolitan area and Kansai, but also in various places, including Okinawa, Yamaguchi, and Hiroshima prefectures, where "priority measures such as spread prevention" are applied to the current infection status. At the same time as the replacement, it is analyzed that "the number of infected people continues to increase rapidly."



On top of that, he said, "There is a possibility that the rapid spread of infection will continue nationwide in the future" due to the characteristics of the Omicron strain, which has a fast spread of infection, and the change in the positive rate of the test.



On the other hand, in Okinawa Prefecture, it is necessary to pay attention to the possibility that the number of reporters does not reflect the actual situation because the test cannot catch up, and in areas where the infection is rapidly spreading, people with high priority such as patients with symptoms It is pointed out that it is necessary to secure a system that can reliably inspect the disease.



Regarding medical care, the number of medical treatments is rapidly increasing nationwide, and the number of severely ill patients is also increasing. The medical system may become tight rapidly, and the spread of infection to the elderly may lead to an increase in the number of severely ill people.



In addition, at medical institutions and welfare facilities, it is necessary to urgently check the business continuity plan because it is possible that staff and family members may become infected or become close contacts, leaving the workplace and making work difficult. Therefore, it is required to properly review the waiting period for close contacts in the future.



In addition, it is necessary to act with awareness that infection with Omicron strains is spreading not only in areas where priority measures such as spread prevention are applied, but also throughout the country. In addition to avoiding crowded areas and high-risk situations, he said that basic infection control measures such as proper wearing of masks, disinfection of fingers, and ventilation are important.

Chair Wakita "Take sharp measures according to the characteristics of Omicron strains"

At a press conference after the expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Chairman Takaji Wakita said, "Since the characteristics of Omicron strains are well understood, it is necessary to take appropriate measures. There was no objection. During the year-end and New Year holidays and consecutive holidays, the infection occurred at the place of eating and drinking and the opportunity for many people to make a loud voice in a poorly ventilated place. It was very important to reduce the chances of contact by "restricting the number of people" in places where there is a high risk of infection, rather than the widespread "restriction of people" such as "reduction" and refraining from going out and moving. " Said.

The percentage of suspected Omicron strains is rapidly replacing 93% nationwide

According to the materials presented at the expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 20th, according to the results of the "variant strain PCR test" conducted in each prefecture, the new coronavirus suspected to be an Omicron strain is on the 16th of this month. In the past week, it has been rapidly replaced with 93% nationwide.



Of the areas to which priority measures such as spread prevention are applied from the 21st, 94% in Tokyo, 95% in Saitama and Chiba prefectures, and 93% in Kanagawa prefecture in the metropolitan area.



In the three Tokai prefectures, Aichi prefecture has 93%, Gifu prefecture has 96%, and Mie prefecture has 98%.

In other regions as well , the percentage is rapidly increasing nationwide,



with 95% in Osaka prefecture, 93% in Hyogo prefecture, 89% in Kyoto prefecture, 77% in Hokkaido, 90% in Fukuoka prefecture, etc. in Kansai.


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Infection continues to spread 3.55 times more rapidly than the previous week nationwide

According to the materials presented at the expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of newly infected people in the week up to 19th is 3.55 times that of the previous week, and the spread of infection continues rapidly.



In areas where priority measures such as spread prevention are applied, Hiroshima prefecture is 1.91 times, Yamaguchi prefecture is 1.59 times, and Okinawa prefecture is 1.11 times.



In areas where priority measures such as spread prevention are applied from the 21st, the rapid increase continues to 4.00 times in Tokyo, 4.30 times in Kanagawa prefecture, 4.42 times in Chiba prefecture, and 4.36 times in Saitama prefecture in 1 metropolitan area and 3 prefectures. I am.



In addition, Niigata prefecture is 3.42 times, Gunma prefecture is 3.06 times, Aichi prefecture is 4.80 times, Gifu prefecture is 4.19 times, Mie prefecture is 5.77 times, Kagawa prefecture is 3.74 times, Nagasaki prefecture. It increased rapidly to 5.31 times in Kumamoto prefecture, 5.99 times in Kumamoto prefecture, and 7.89 times in Miyazaki prefecture.



In other areas, Hokkaido is 5.61 times, Shizuoka prefecture is 5.02 times, Osaka prefecture is 4.64 times, Kyoto prefecture is 4.19 times, Hyogo prefecture is 6.17 times, Shimane prefecture is 3.60 times, Fukuoka prefecture is 5.88 times, and Saga prefecture is 2.92 times. It has increased rapidly to 5.57 times in Oita prefecture.



Looking at the current infection status in the last week per 100,000 population, Okinawa Prefecture has the highest number of infected people, 672.85, Osaka Prefecture has 302.98, Hiroshima Prefecture has 257.49, Tokyo has 229.14, and Kyoto has 216.67. There were 147.44 people nationwide.