On the 18th, 68% of Tokyo's confirmed cases had unknown infection routes
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced, "We will expand PCR tests to 20,000," but recently only about 7,000 tests have been conducted
Employees of Fukaya City Hall in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, are working behind transparent partitions for COVID-19 infection prevention on the 15th. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern reporter Juhyung Lim] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spreads in Japan, at least six cases have been confirmed where deceased individuals found dead on the street or at home tested positive for COVID-19 through postmortem PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing.
According to Japanese media 'Nihon TV' on the 20th (local time), the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department conducted COVID-19 tests on people who were found dead on the streets or at home over the past month, confirming at least six positive cases. The Metropolitan Police Department is the police headquarters overseeing Tokyo Prefecture.
In particular, on the 9th, a man in his 60s living in Tokyo collapsed on the street complaining of chest pain and died. Postmortem COVID-19 testing confirmed that he was positive.
'Nihon TV' pointed out, "All of these cases did not receive adequate treatment through medical institutions," and added, "Even when their physical condition rapidly worsened, proper consultation related to COVID-19 testing was not conducted."
Japan's cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, including passengers on the cruise ship 'Diamond Princess,' reached 10,810 on the 18th, surpassing South Korea.
Among these, Japanese quarantine authorities are reportedly struggling to trace the movements of confirmed cases and isolate those who may have been exposed. This is due to insufficient PCR testing, making it difficult to identify unidentified infected individuals.
On the afternoon of the 19th, people wearing masks were moving through a shopping district in Shinagawa-gu, Tokyo, Japan. / Photo by Yonhap News
On the 18th, Japanese media 'Kyodo News' reported that among the 181 confirmed cases in Tokyo that day, the infection route of 124 people, accounting for 68%, was unknown.
Also, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced at a press conference on the 6th that "PCR testing capacity will be expanded to 20,000 tests per day," but recent testing performance has remained at a maximum of about 7,000 tests per day.
Given this situation, concerns have arisen that Japan's medical system could become overwhelmed as the number of COVID-19 patients increases.
Yusuke Nakamura, an authority in the field of genome medicine and emeritus professor at the University of Chicago, said in an interview with the 'Tokyo Shimbun' on the 19th that Japan's medical situation "could collapse."
He explained, "To avoid hospital-acquired infections, cases of refusing to admit suspected infected patients have increased, forcing limited 'life-saving emergency centers' to respond. As a result, there have been cases where patients requiring urgent treatment such as myocardial infarction or stroke could not be admitted, leading to medical collapse."
He continued, "Infections with viruses that have a long incubation period and high transmissibility cannot be suppressed by just tracing cluster infections. (Japan) appeared to be suppressing medical collapse by narrowing the scope of testing, but the big problem is that mild or asymptomatic infected individuals who cannot get tested are not restricted in their activities, leading to the spread of infection," criticizing Japan's quarantine measures.
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