And with reported new cases dropping sharply in recent weeks, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected later Thursday to lift a state of emergency for most of the country.
Even the government’s own coronavirus expert, Shigeru Omi, has admitted “nobody knows” whether the true number of coronavirus cases “could be 10 times, 12 times or 20 times more than reported.” However, Kazuto Suzuki, professor of public policy at Hokkaido University, said Japan’s strategy of tracing clusters and only testing people with acute symptoms had proved sufficient for the relatively low numbers of cases.With a ratio of positive cases to tests of around 7.5 percent, “the testing is sufficient,” he said.Suzuki put Japan’s success down to near universal mask-wearing and a culture of hygiene and hand-washing.
As the number of infected rose — hitting a daily record of 700 on April 11 — there were fears the virus was surging and putting pressure on Japan’s healthcare system. But the handouts were the result of an embarrassing u-turn and he has also been widely mocked over the haphazard distribution of two cloth masks per household, a program dubbed “Abe-no-masks”.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: rapplerdotcom - 🏆 4. / 86 Read more »
Source: ANCALERTS - 🏆 26. / 50 Read more »
Source: rapplerdotcom - 🏆 4. / 86 Read more »
Source: ANCALERTS - 🏆 26. / 50 Read more »
Source: CNN Philippines - 🏆 13. / 63 Read more »
Source: rapplerdotcom - 🏆 4. / 86 Read more »