Japan on Wednesday reported 501 new Covid-19 cases – the first time the country has crossed the 500-mark in more than two months.
The rise in cases raised concerns after a prolonged spike in low infection numbers as people prepared to travel across the country to celebrate the new year.
In a video message posted on Twitter WednesdayJapan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to strengthen measures to prevent the community spread of omakron infections by preparing for a “worst-case scenario”.
“I will do my best to make oral medicine widely available and secure the health care system,” Kishida said.
Japan has fully immunized nearly 80% of its population until December 27Cases across the country had declined in recent months, with fewer than 100 cases a day reported since October, having previously topped 25,000 daily infections during the summer.
But Japan reported its first locally transmitted case of Omicron on December 23 – and cases of the highly transmissible version are slowly rising nationwide.
Cases on US military bases: In a news release On Wednesday, officials at US Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture said 80 personnel had tested positive for COVID-19.
This is the highest number recorded on Aadhaar in a single day,
Meanwhile, about 300 people have been confirmed infected at Marine Corps Camp Hansen in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. Japan’s foreign ministry believes that 47% of the samples are of the omicron variant.
At a news conference last week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the US military in Japan did not test its personnel before leaving the United States, a move that undermines Tokyo’s request to comply with border control measures. . ,
Japan urges US military to follow coronavirus testing and quarantine rules last wednesday, as the Camp Hansen cluster grew.
In response, Marine Forces Japan has reinstated the mask mandate for all, regardless of vaccination status, except for activities such as eating or exercising.