Elderly People Still Cautioned against COVID during Golden Week

Tokyo, May 3 (Jiji Press)–While COVID-19 infections have decreased significantly since Japan downgraded the disease to the same category as seasonal influenza almost three years ago, elderly people and others are still cautioned against the risk of contracting the virus during the country’s ongoing Gold Week holiday period. The Japan Institute for Health Security continues to monitor COVID-19 cases at about 3,000 medical institutions nationwide. In the week through April 19, the number of cases per institution was 0.68, less than half of 1.77 a year earlier. The figure was 3.64 two years before, when the survey covered about 5,000 medical institutions. “Many people are believed to have acquired immunity through vaccinations and infections,” said Tomoya Saito, head of the infectious disease risk management department of the JIHS, adding that the number of people taking COVID-19 tests may have declined as well. Immunity weakens over time, but a certain level of protection against severe symptom remains. “We no longer need to fear the coronavirus excessively,” Saito said. The pandemic had expanded through the emergence of new variants of the virus. Recently, a new strain called BA3.2 has begun spreading overseas, and it has also been detected in Japan. Last December, the World Health Organization designated it as a strain under monitoring. The new strain is said to be not very contagious or much different from previous strains. Nevertheless, Saito warned that the pandemic is “not necessarily over.” He noted that elderly people and those with underlying health conditions are still at high risk of developing severe symptoms. Saito advised these people to avoid crowds and take infection prevention measures, including wearing masks. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]