China News Service, March 5th. According to Kyodo News Agency of Japan, data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan show that as of March 4, 19 prefectures and counties across Japan have reported cases of mutated new coronavirus.
Experts in this country believe that the rapid spread of the mutant virus may have an impact on the Tokyo Olympics.
Data map: Japan under the epidemic.
According to reports, the Japanese government is currently monitoring the three mutated viruses found in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. Since December 25, 2020, the first case of mutated virus infection in Japan was reported, as of March 4, 2021. The number of mutated virus infections in Japan has increased to 234.
According to the report, cases of the mutant virus in Japan have appeared in 19 prefectures, of which Saitama Prefecture has the most cases with 38 people; in addition, Hyogo Prefecture (36 people) and Niigata Prefecture (29 people) are next.
Some Japanese experts expressed concern about this, saying that “there is a risk of rapid spread of the (mutated virus)” and that it may cause the emergence of the “fourth wave” of the epidemic, which may affect the lifting of the state of emergency and the Tokyo Olympics.
According to statistics from the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), as of 23:59 on March 4, local time, the cumulative number of confirmed cases nationwide in Japan has exceeded 436,000, with 8,143 deaths.