The Tokyo Metropolitan Government recorded 968 new cases on Monday, the first time since July 19 that the count fell below 1,000. That figure is also 947 fewer than last Monday, marking the 15th consecutive day of a weekly decline.
However, the number of critically ill patients remains high in the capital. Severe cases rose to 267 on Monday, up three from the previous day. The death toll stands at 16.
As hospitals in the region reach capacity, many patients are forced to leave home. This has led to an immediate spread of the virus within families. About a quarter of the 125,606 cases shown in Tokyo last month were the result of home visits. -Transmission transmitted.
Infections are also spreading among young people. Last month, a daycare center was forced to close after five children were found to be infected.
One of the children at the school, a 5-year-old boy, developed symptoms of pneumonia and is believed to have passed the infection on to his mother. Health officials were unable to reach the hospital in either case and were forced to stay home. .
The increase in family transmissions and cases among young people comes at a particularly inopportune time, as the country enters a new school year.
Many schools have taken preventive measures, such as allowing students to attend schools on a rotating basis and introducing online classes, but those measures have proved inadequate in some cases. A number one school in Aichi Prefecture has been forced to close its doors after becoming the focus of a cluster of infections.
Classes are now completely online and teachers monitor the prestige of students as they prepare for the reopening of school.
“The number of infections among young people is increasing rapidly,” says Nakayama Kuniko, an infectious disease specialist. “We want to be cautious as we may see a further increase in the coming weeks, given the incubation era and the opening of schools. “.
The rise in cases among schoolchildren comes amid large gaps between age groups in the country’s vaccination rollout.
As of Sunday, 62. 2 percent of people 12 and older had received at least one dose; 48. 3 percent have won one of the vaccines. However, only about 25 percent of people in their 20s and 30s had received any of the doses. For other 12- to 19-year-olds, that figure drops to less than 15 percent. 80 percent of people over the age of 60 have been fully vaccinated.
The government in Tokyo is trying to correct this imbalance. Last month, it set up a walk-in vaccination center near Shibuya Station, reserved exclusively for other people between the ages of 16 and 39.
However, the release turned out to be chaotic as the government seriously underestimated the demand. People piled up outside the site in the early hours of the morning and many were eventually forced to leave, disappointed. The Tokyo government temporarily implemented an online lottery system. .
The government says it will continue to work with local governments and other relevant bodies until November to make sure those who want to get vaccinated can get it.
Some officials are urging the government to maintain existing emergency measures at least in urban centers, including the Tokyo metropolitan area. The government says it will make a decision on the number of cases, the capacity of medical services and the progress of vaccination. It is expected to make an official announcement later this week.