Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan must be regretting in delaying in taking strict actions when the coronavirus first appeared in his country. Despite being at close proximity with China, when Covid 19 cases started propping up in Tokyo and from cruise ships docking at the ports, Abe did not take it seriously, instead leaving it to local authorities to handle the matter.
And when the world is entering into lockdown, with the virus having spread to 200 countries, Japan continued to defy calls from WHO and was even adamant in organising the 2020 Olympics in June. Now the country has 8100 recorded positive cases with 119 deaths and is in state of emergency, but there is more serious problem lurking for the Land of the Rising Sun.
Hiroshi Nishiura, Hokkaido University professor and a member of the Japanese task force against the coronavirus has claimed that the coronavirus outbreak in Japan could potentially claim up to 420,000 lives if there’s no proper preventive measure taken. The task force conducted a simulation, which said that at least 850,000 people could become seriously ill with COVID-19 if countermeasures were not imposed.
Japan has yet to go into total lockdown, selected prefectures have been declared in emergency and social distancing is only now being introduced. Public transport are usually packed to the brim, and its cities are one of the most populated, the nation is bracing for outbreak unlike any its seen before. However, Hiroshi does feel the worst case scenario can be thwarted “we do not expect 400,000 or so people to die. We can stop the spread of this infectious disease if we drastically reduce contact between people” he told the local newspaper.
Currently the government has introduced partial or 70% state of emergency, but to really see the effects of a decrease in the spread in Tokyo and several other prefectures, an 80% or higher must be enforced said the professor. Abe and his cohorts delayed in March for the hopes of having the Olympics, but there is no time to drag his feet and should heed the experts call. Even the mighty US has been brought to its knees by the coronavirus, Japan can learn from whats its neighbours are going through on a daily basis, realtime.
