The number of new coronavirus infections has been on a downward trend nationwide by 0.68 times compared to the previous week in the week leading up to the 4th, but experts say the actual infection situation may not be reflected. and points out that caution is required.
Regarding the current infection situation, Atsuro Hamada, a specially appointed professor at Tokyo Medical University who is familiar with infectious diseases, said, "Many medical institutions are closed during the year-end and New Year holidays, and the number of tests is small, so the current numbers represent the current situation. The number of tourists and people eating and drinking outside during the year-end and New Year holidays, when there are no restrictions on movement, must have been significantly higher than in the past two years, so we will be careful to see if the number of infected people increases after a certain period of time. We need to see progress,” he said.
Furthermore, regarding the fact that influenza has entered the epidemic season nationwide, he said, ``We should think that the new coronavirus and influenza, which had been feared, are occurring at the same time. It is not possible to distinguish between coronavirus and influenza based on symptoms alone, so if you have symptoms such as fever, you should first suspect coronavirus and self-test with a test kit, and if negative, then flu. There is a risk that medical care will be overwhelmed, so I would like you to prepare in advance, such as preparing antipyretic analgesics and test kits in advance." .
As a point to note when work or school resumes, Project Professor Hamada said, "If you feel unwell, such as having a fever, I want you to rest as much as possible. I think it's hard to say that you should take a rest after a long vacation because you're unwell, but the spread of infection. In order to prevent this, I would like the workplace and school to actively convey the message, 'If you feel unwell, take a vacation.'