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Japan rides calmer Covid-19 wave but new variant, resurgence of virus in Europe cause jitters

  • Japan has some, but not all, answers, with experts pointing to factors like vaccination timing, mutation ‘errors’ and the ‘media effect’
  • There is still worry that as temperatures dip and immunity wears off, infections will rise although it is hoped big spikes can be avoided

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“Hina” dolls are unveiled by a doll maker in Tokyo, including a nurse giving a Covid-19 vaccine to a man. Japan is currently doing well in its fight against coronavirus, with only five new cases in its capital city on Wednesday. Photo: Kyodo

Japan’s low Covid-19 count in recent weeks – compared to the resurgence of cases in Europe and parts of Asia – has baffled its experts. On Tuesday, the day before Tokyo reported its five new cases, there were only 107 cases reported across the nation of 125 million.

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Those figures are in stark contrast to the 25,992 reported on August 20, the peak of the fifth wave of the pandemic to hit Japan, and a seven-day average of 21,247.

Asked about the reasons for the steep dive, Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases and a member of the government’s advisory panel said: “We don’t know for sure.”

“Right now, the most likely explanation is that it is a combination of several factors, to greater or lesser degrees,” he said.

People in Tokyo wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus on Thursday. Photo: AP
People in Tokyo wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus on Thursday. Photo: AP

The high vaccination rate – after a lacklustre start – is a significant factor, Tateda said, with more than 196 million doses administered and nearly 78 per cent of the population double jabbed.

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