Tokyo reports 476 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 1,381

Tokyo reports 476 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 1,381

Incredible numbers!

And look where we are at now.

Sorry can't help but notice 159 increase and total silence from certain quarters!

Cases starting to go up again. Good thing number of deaths remains low. Hope it remains that way

We're getting vaccinated everyday

Are we?

My ward only sent out the vouchers last week for under 65.

Got ours on Thursday and Friday but we could not book any appointments because the ward was still not accepting anyone under 65.

They opened up yesterday for 55 and over so I could book but not my wife or adult children.

The earliest I could get was July 29 for my first shot.

My wife will not be able to even try getting an appointment for 2 more weeks.

My daughter got her first shot today through her company.

The government system has been a massive failure from the start.

Incredible how a private company could in one week secure doctors and the needed equipment but the government couldn't do it for months.

@vendingmachinemusic

Your friend's situation is not unusual.

My daughter's work is in super computers so for security reasons they cannot work remotely.

When 2 co-workers got covid the company tried getting all those in close contact tested and were told by the government NO.

The company paid for private testing and found 2 more infected workers.

They stopped all work for 2 weeks until everyone not infected tested negative after isolation at home.

Company doing what the government should have been doing.

We're getting vaccinated everyday. 

You arm must be very sore! ;)

We're getting vaccinated everyday. Maybe the numbers will go down more.

A good friends wife got covid. High fever for days. Finally she was given a PCR test (+) and is now hospitalized. Immediate family, husband, and two kids despite living in the same household maskless were not considered high risk because they did not have any symptoms and were not given PCR tests by the govt, and instead told to fork out 9man yen (3people) a the local hospital if they were concerned. That is how hard it is to get PCR tests here in Japan. Little confidence that they will be able to test at the olympics in the capacity they say they will. The past 18 months has shown Japan has very little testing capability or initiative to test. Remember Koike promising 60,000 tests a day? I do, gold chain and all.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/30/national/science-health/coronavirus-testing-tokyo/

the most ever PCR done in Tokyo in one day was 17k.

https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/cards/number-of-tested

A bit of good news...the Boards of Education in Tokyo are finally allowing Teachers to be vaccinated. I have no idea about the students due to second hand information, but it is a (slow) step in the right direction.

Thomas GoodtimeToday  08:38 pm JST

It's safe to say the Japan method has been a disaster. If only the true numbers were reported.

Sure doesn't feel like a disaster in Japan. Are the "fake" numbers MORE "fake" now because they are falling? Reality: Fewer deaths, fewer seriously ill, lower hospital occupancy rate, falling number of people presenting with symptoms, falling number of cases in Japan (most prefectures.)

Or will we shift to the Delta variant conjecture and run with those fears for the next month?

With multi-millions of vaccinations happening weekly, things are heading in the right direction. It is obvious but surprisingly unpopular on this forum.

Ten days ago reported that delta variant represented 36 percent of all infections it has surely

exceeded 40 percent at this stage.

They have everything they need, Tokyo just decided it was "not a priority" to test regularly for variants.

Now why that is, is up for debate.

The experts do test and have the numbers, they are just not openly reported for some reason.

For example here is one report from the board of advisers about COVID of the ministry of health labour and welfare from June 23.

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10900000/000796735.pdf

The information on new variants is on the last 6 slides

On slide 40 is the number of cases identified by each variant, in dark blue is the delta (between 2 and 9 cases daily even if the total number of cases decreases).

On the last slide is a projection of the rate of the expected replacement of the isolated strains from the old variants to the ones with the L452R mutation (the one that makes the delta strains more contagious and decrease the effect of the immunity).

According to the model, and based on the characteristics of the strain and how it being detected more frequently every day, by next week it is projected to become around 50% of all the cases detected in both of the regions being analyzed. The model assumes that eventually all cases detected will be from strains with the L452R mutation, probably before the games even begin.

I agree @Antiquesaving, but this relentless obsession with testing is really rather pointless. Divert funds to more vaccination centres. Infection will continue but people will stay out of hospital. That is already being seen here with the elderly.

and really @Do the hustle. You are being saracastic about a proper lockdown I assume?

@Do the hustle

Again not going to happen for the previously stated reasons.

And yes Tokyo is the hub just like the other times and as soon as the first holiday travels start it will spread to the rest of Japan like the other times.

Tokyo is responsible for more than a third of cases nationally. It’s pretty obvious Tokyo is the cluster hub. As other countries have shown, a two-week lockdown is how to control the virus. Close the schools, bars and restaurants, limit travel to essentials only and close the boarders to neighboring prefectures for two full weeks and watch the virus disappear. Two weeks of inconvenience is better than years of being stuck in the pandemic cycle.

I fear for Olympic. Japan has now reported almost 800,000 cases since the start of the pandemic and 14,700 deaths – one of the highest tolls in the region.

So Japan doesn't have the lab capacity to test for the Delta variant? 

Not what I said.

They have everything they need, Tokyo just decided it was "not a priority" to test regularly for variants.

Now why that is, is up for debate.

Some speculate it was to avoid discovering a local variant but that is pure speculation.

So Japan doesn't have the lab capacity to test for the Delta variant? So pray tell, how are they planning on finding out if those foreign athletes are bringing it in, then? Not surprised in the least!

"Tokyo reports 476 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 1,381"

...but the safe and secure olympics is coming soon!

High positivity rate still. Cases way up.

Need more testing. Lots of asymptomatics spreading the virus. Japan's approach has not been working.

Has anyone seen any information about the delta variant cases in Japan?

Seems there is very little mention, if any, about this important point.

At least in Tokyo the government said it wasn't important to test for variants but it seems it was in the case of the Ugandan team.

Strange how that goes!

@ifd66 Probably ,like in many other countries, there is not a complete genetic sequencing done here or one with enough data for having a statistical relevance based on enough data. I’ve heard, only UK and Denmark have the lab capacity and expertise to do that in higher numbers. But I just found that -NichiTeleNews24- and have let it run through the website translation…

(Professor Nishiura of Kyoto University and others presented data on future expansion forecasts at an expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 23rd. The data predict that Delta will account for more than half of all infected people in the country early next month and 68.9% on the 23rd, when the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics will take place.)

Stay Home. Save Lives. Don't Move...

You stay home and don't move. Let us know how it goes.

Please report on how many people they tested?

If you are only testing people with symptoms then 30-40% that don't show symptoms make your figures 30-40% lower than reported.

Has anyone seen any information about the delta variant cases in Japan?

Seems there is very little mention, if any, about this important point.

So the numbers increasing supports still holding the Olympics....how?

I do know it will support no alcohol again, somehow.

I said it before, I say it again - this doesn't look good at all!

you’re a genius ! Nobody else predicted that the numbers would go up again

No,no,no, this is not possible yesterday we were told by those that know better than all, that Covid is beat, it's over the numbers are Down how can it be today they are up by 159. (Ok fained surprises)

Oh right it's Tuesday, Tokyo private labs opened back up yesterday!

Oh and Osaka is up by 61 to 101 more than double yesterday's cases.

They better hope that there aren't many Delta variants within these positives, otherwise the Japanese Olympic team may have to live by tougher rules. ('Japan eyes tougher Olympics rules for Delta variant-hit countries')