Japan COVID-19 Cases Surpass 25,000... Third Vaccine Dose Coverage at 0.9%

Japanese Authorities Shorten Quarantine Period for Close Contacts of Confirmed Cases to Maintain Social Functions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Japan is increasing to near record levels. With the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine lagging, the spread that began mainly at U.S. military bases in Japan is accelerating rapidly.

According to local public broadcaster NHK as of 7 p.m. on the 15th, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan was counted at 25,630. This is close to the highest daily record of 25,992 cases set on August 20 last year.

As recently as the 15th of last month, Japan’s daily new cases were only 174. However, in just one month, the number has increased approximately 147 times. The new COVID-19 variant Omicron, which started spreading from U.S. military bases in Japan, is accelerating its spread.

With a low vaccination rate, the speed of COVID-19 spread is expected to increase for the time being. According to the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office tally, as of the 13th of this month, only 0.9% of Japan’s total population has received the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, Japanese authorities are shortening the quarantine period for those who have been in close contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases to maintain social functions. On this day, the Japanese government reduced the quarantine period for arrivals who stayed in countries or regions where Omicron is dominant from two weeks to ten days. Additionally, the government notified all prefectural governments the day before that the quarantine period for close contacts of Omicron-infected individuals will also be reduced to ten days.

Quarantine measures for essential personnel are also being eased. For essential workers such as police officers and childcare and caregiving (personnel who care for patients and the elderly) workers, quarantine can be lifted if they test negative on a PCR test on the sixth day.

These measures by Japanese authorities were decided based on the analysis by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan, which found that the incubation period of Omicron is only about three days.