Japan has also penetrated airport quarantine network due to variant corona… I close the door again

The new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), Japan, with the number of infected people approaching 4,000 a day, walked back and locked. As cases of corona19 infection from the UK were confirmed over the weekend, in principle, it was decided to completely ban foreigners from entering the country until the end of January next year.

On the 26th, citizens wearing masks pass through downtown Tokyo with Christmas illuminations. On this day, in Tokyo, 949 corona19 confirmed a day, the highest ever. [EPA=연합뉴스]

The Japanese government urgently announced on the night of the 26th a policy that in principle, people from all countries are not allowed to enter the country from the 28th to the end of next month. In order to prevent the influx of the variant corona 19 virus, it was decided to expand the ban on entry to the world, which was only for the UK and South Africa.

However, it has decided to continue to recognize the’business traffic’, which is operating in 11 countries and regions, including Korea.

The Japanese government also decided to suspend self-quarantine mitigation measures, which would exempt Japanese or foreigners residing in Japan from waiting for 14 days if certain conditions are met when they return home after a short business trip. In addition, if a Japanese or a foreigner residing in Japan enters the country from a country where the COVID-19 mutant virus occurs, it is mandatory to submit an inspection certificate within 72 hours prior to departure and additional inspection upon entry.

In Japan, the number of confirmed corona19 patients a day is sharply increasing, breaking the record for the highest daily. According to NHK on the 27th, the number of newly confirmed infections across Japan on the previous day was 3881, surpassing 3831 on the previous day, reaching 4,000. On the 26th, there were 949 new confirmed cases in Tokyo alone, the highest ever. On the 27th, 708 new reports were reported in Tokyo, the highest as of Sunday.

The number of infected virus strains also increased to 7 people. Following the five confirmed at the airport quarantine on the 25th, an additional male aircraft pilot in his 30s and his family, a woman in his 20s, who returned from England on the 26th were additionally identified.

There are concerns that the virus may have already spread to the community after being confirmed by a general medical institution rather than an airport quarantine station. The man returned home from England on the 16th, but it is known that he was exempted from quarantine because he was a pilot.

In the year-end and New Year holidays, the Japanese government has asked the public to’restrict to go out’ and recommends’shortening of business hours’ to restaurants, but the effect is not showing up. Among infection experts, there is a voice saying, “If you go this way, you may run into a situation that is out of control, like in European countries. More fundamental measures are needed.”

The problem is that the current Japanese law cannot enforce reduction of restaurant business hours. That’s all about the degree of subsidies for restaurants that voluntarily participate. As the situation worsens, the Japanese government is belatedly considering amendments to the bill.

On the 25th, after the report of a subcommittee on COVID-19 countermeasures saying “restaurants are the main culprit of the spread of Corona 19,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held a press conference and said, “(Reducing business hours) We will review the revision of the Special Measures Act so that we can take effective measures.”

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held an emergency press conference on the night of the 25th to announce measures to prevent the spread of Corona 19. [AP=연합뉴스]

However, the amendment of the Special Regulations Act is also criticized as a’back north’, like the suspension of the travel support plan’Go To Travel’.

On the 26th, a professor at Toho University, Kazuhiro Tateda, chairman of the Japanese Infectious Disease Association, told a support letter, “It takes time to revise the law. Originally, the problem should have been cleared from summer to fall when infection was lulled. I do” he pointed out.

Currently, the only way to take’forced measures’ in restaurants, etc. is to declare an emergency. The Japanese government adheres to the position that “it is not yet in a situation to declare an emergency.”

In an editorial on the 27th, Asahi Shimbun requested to the government that “the principle is that the declaration of emergencies that restrict individual rights should be kept to a minimum,” but “it is necessary to verify the effectiveness and possibility of an emergency declaration.”
Tokyo = Correspondent Lee Young-hee [email protected]