Japan doubles areas under COVID curbs as cases set records
The measures, already in force in 16 prefectures, will take
effect in a further 18 including the western prefectures of
Nationwide cases rose above 60,000 for the first time since
the pandemic began, a tally by broadcaster Fuji TV showed on
Tuesday, with the capital,
Economy minister
The curbs will run from Thursday until
The stricter measures come as the government is shifting its approach to handling the soaring number of cases.
The health ministry announced late on Monday it will allow doctors to diagnose those who have had close contact with a COVID-19 patient and who show symptoms as being infected without the need for a test, if deemed necessary by local governments.
The new policy will enable patients to get prompt treatment,
said Chief Cabinet Secretary
"We're presenting a policy to expand the options available to patients," he said.
Managing COVID-19 without laboratory test confirmations is similar to how doctors fight influenza in areas where "the community burden is high", said Kazuaki Jindai, a physician and researcher at Tohoku University.
"The important thing is that some people will get sick eventually and we need to have a good monitoring system to make sure that they are safe. Not only by providing them hospitalization but also access to new oral medications."
Kyle Tattle, president of the Japanese arm of U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co INC. (MRK), told reporters the company was working to provide its COVID-19 oral pill, molnupiravir, as soon as possible.
The government would also weigh scientific data in
considering shorter quarantines for people who have had close
contact with COVID-19 patients, Kishida told a parliamentary
debate.
(Reporting by