While concerns about corona'second wave' are increasing worldwide, the trend of corona spreading in Japan is seldom fading. The Japanese government has already cleared up all of the corona emergencies issued by the nation at the end of last month, and from the 19th of last month, it lifted the request to refrain from traveling between the local governments and the social atmosphere, as a matter of fact, has returned to'before corona'.

However, the situation in the capital city of Tokyo seems quite serious. Up to yesterday (June 30), the number of additional confirmed students per day in Tokyo exceeded 50 for five consecutive days. In the last week of May (24th to 30th), the average daily rate of new confirmed persons was 13.4, while the same period in June was 55.1. Even a simple comparison of the figures shows that the number increased by 41.7. Tokyo Alert, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's own request to refrain from going out, has already been lifted, but Governor Yuriko Koike of Tokyo is refusing to review the warning's re-issuance. . This is because the number of new confirmed patients has increased, but the majority of them have a limited range of'incidence', such as'night streets', especially from entertainment districts in Shinjuku, and'preemptive' infection tests for asymptomatic infections are effective.


The'Tokyo Alert' had concrete figures set after meeting with experts. ① The number of new infections per day is 20 or more (average per week), ② The path of infection is more than 50% (average per week) among the confirmed patients, ③ It is a condition that the rate of proton growth is 1 or more compared to the previous week. On the 11th of last month, when the ``Tokyo Alert'' was canceled, it was judged that the above conditions had been met.

If you look at the current state of corona in Tokyo in the last week, you naturally wonder whether you should issue the Tokyo Alert again. As explained earlier, the average number of new infections per day from June 24 to 30 is 55.1, more than three times the standard ①, and the increase rate compared to the previous week also naturally exceeds the standard ③. . According to an analysis of the Tokyo Newspaper today (1st), the proportion of those who have an unknown path of infection is only 50%, and the standard ② has also been reached. The standards are all met, so even though it is reasonable to issue the'Tokyo Alert' again, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is saying'it's okay'. It is no wonder that the insecurity of Tokyo residents is getting higher.


In addition, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government abolished all three criteria for the issuance of the Tokyo Alert yesterday starting today (1st). Instead, it suggested 7 as a new standard. ① The number of newly infected people, ② The number and increase ratio of unknown patients, ③ The number of emergency center fever consultations, ④ The number of severe patients, ⑤ The number of hospitalized patients, ⑥ Positive rate of infection test (the total number of testers divided by the number of protons), ⑦ Patient transfer hospital The number of cases that are difficult to select is based on seven new criteria. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said that it would replace the warning by going one step further and making a request to limit the behavior, such as refraining from going out, instead of issuing a'Tokyo Warning'.

From 3 to 7, there are more standards than before, and the'medical system' that was never before is included, so you may think that it is more stringent, but the facts are completely different. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has not introduced ``numerical standards'' to the seven new standards. More than a few infected people per day, a few percent of the paths unknown, more than a few fever consultations, and more than a few hospitalized patients. We will remove all of these criteria, and instead, we will comprehensively judge based on the evaluation of the monitoring conference. I said. The key point of the new infection countermeasure is that if experts submit the current status of each of the seven standards approximately once a week, based on this, they will discuss and announce whether or not to ask residents to refrain from acting on the basis of this. The governor of Tokyo, Koike, said, "It is not just a number, but an expert's sense of the field that should determine the status of the infection." However, it is unclear how much of an alternative infection situation should be requested to refrain from going out or to close the restaurant.


Why has Tokyo removed the standard of the'Tokyo Alert', that is, the shame? Doubt gathers to one point. This is the election of the governor of Tokyo on this Sunday (5th).

As I said, if it is the case now, and if the previous three criteria are valid, it is of course necessary to issue a ``Tokyo Alert'' and ask residents to refrain from going out, and to refrain from selling to restaurants, etc. Rather, if the'Tokyo Alert' has not been released so far, it would be enough to say,'Give me a little more comfort' by hearing the reason of the recent increase in infection. In particular, it is said that the political burden is high in the current situation where elections are on the verge. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is trying to turn to the current situation, saying that it is ``local spread,'' but the criticism that it has neglected the spread of infection is highly likely to face Governor Koike, who is currently in charge of the process.


No matter how likely it is that the Tokyo governor's election will end with the'winning' of Koike prefectural governor, if the election issue is focused on'corona response', and if the'corona' buys the voter's reaction, the atmosphere may turn sharply at the end. . So, if the spread of infection does not get caught properly as it is now, if you leave the numerical standard of ``Tokyo Alert'' as it is, the blame for ``Why not issue the alert again'' will increase, so remove the ``Tokyo Alert'' itself and the numerical standard altogether. Instead, it's likely that he added a few criteria to take the form of ``to judge collectively.'' It seems that the decision to hold on to the election and then succeed in reelection (as expected), then set the tone again in the form of asking for restraint.

Today, the number of newly infected people in Tokyo has been announced at 67. The number of infected people in Tokyo has been the highest for more than a month after the emergency was lifted. However, as of today, the'Tokyo Alert' has disappeared with a short lifespan, and in the future, it is decided whether to request'refrain from action' based on expert judgment without any numerical standards. Whether the Tokyo Metropolitan Government demands or suspends action, the objective standard that residents can understand has disappeared, and it has become like a'black box'. Of course, Governor Koike and Tokyo will never admit it, but there is no doubt that there is a political intention to aim for a stable re-election because of the'openness' of the Tokyo Alert and numerical standards.

(Photo = Getty Image Korea)