It has been three years since the first infection with the new coronavirus was confirmed in Japan.


With the number of new infections and deaths continuing to rise and there being no prospect of an end to the epidemic, the challenge is how to prevent the spread of infection while maintaining socioeconomic activities.

The new coronavirus was first confirmed in Japan three years ago on January 15, and according to a summary by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the cumulative number of infected people has reached 31 million, and 62,000 people have died. is climbing.



Of these, since the sixth wave at the beginning of last year, the number of infected people has increased explosively due to the influence of the highly contagious Omicron strain, and the number of infected people in one year has increased to more than 27 million, about 18 times more than the year before. In addition, the number of people who died was about 39,000, an increase of 2.6 times from the previous year.



However, as vaccination progressed and the fatality rate and the rate of severe cases decreased compared to before, there were no restrictions on behavior such as declaring a state of emergency after the 7th wave in summer, and the period of medical treatment was shortened. The country's infection control measures have changed significantly, such as the easing of border measures at airports.



In line with this, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is in full swing to discuss revising the classification of infectious diseases under the Infectious Diseases Law.



However, in the 8th wave that continued from last fall, the infection spread on a scale that surpassed the 7th wave, and the number of deaths reached a record high. The challenge is how to balance these activities.