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26-08-2021, 10:03 AM
Walter Sim
Japan Correspondent
PUBLISHED 10 HOURS AGO
TOKYO - Groundless optimism rather than scientific medical analysis.
This was how Dr Shigeru Omi, a former World Health Organisation official who now heads Japan's government panel of experts on Covid-19, described the country's approach to the pandemic in a Diet committee session on Wednesday (Aug 25).
......
Mr Suga was forced on the defensive numerous times at the news conference when reporters bombarded him with difficult questions over whether Japan's Covid-19 strategy was working.
He stood his ground and insisted that his policies were not only working, but were also effective, pointing to how unnamed countries that implemented lockdowns have had to cope with a resurgence of the virus.
Yet the response missed the mark in how he did not mention that the resurgence elsewhere had been triggered by imported cases, nor the fact that procedures like contact tracing had allowed countries to isolate cases quickly.
Japan's surge, meanwhile, appears to be largely domestic.
......
Against the grim daily infection numbers, Mr Suga faces an uphill battle in convincing the public that his measures are working.
......
Every other day, there is bad news on the health front. Celebrities have died. Hospitals can only admit the sickest, leaving many with moderate or light symptoms to recover at home only for their condition to take a sudden turn for the worse.
Last week, an infected pregnant woman was shunned by hospitals to the point that she went into labour at home. Her baby was stillborn.
......
A state of emergency is akin to a very soft lockdown, with no punitive curbs on movements or size of gatherings beyond loose, undefined requests to avoid "non-essential outings".
......
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-a...c-policies
Japan Correspondent
PUBLISHED 10 HOURS AGO
TOKYO - Groundless optimism rather than scientific medical analysis.
This was how Dr Shigeru Omi, a former World Health Organisation official who now heads Japan's government panel of experts on Covid-19, described the country's approach to the pandemic in a Diet committee session on Wednesday (Aug 25).
......
Mr Suga was forced on the defensive numerous times at the news conference when reporters bombarded him with difficult questions over whether Japan's Covid-19 strategy was working.
He stood his ground and insisted that his policies were not only working, but were also effective, pointing to how unnamed countries that implemented lockdowns have had to cope with a resurgence of the virus.
Yet the response missed the mark in how he did not mention that the resurgence elsewhere had been triggered by imported cases, nor the fact that procedures like contact tracing had allowed countries to isolate cases quickly.
Japan's surge, meanwhile, appears to be largely domestic.
......
Against the grim daily infection numbers, Mr Suga faces an uphill battle in convincing the public that his measures are working.
......
Every other day, there is bad news on the health front. Celebrities have died. Hospitals can only admit the sickest, leaving many with moderate or light symptoms to recover at home only for their condition to take a sudden turn for the worse.
Last week, an infected pregnant woman was shunned by hospitals to the point that she went into labour at home. Her baby was stillborn.
......
A state of emergency is akin to a very soft lockdown, with no punitive curbs on movements or size of gatherings beyond loose, undefined requests to avoid "non-essential outings".
......
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-a...c-policies
