Japan looks to ease virus state of emergency ahead of Olympics

Dr Shigeru Omi, head of a government COVID-19 panel, cautioned that holding the Olympics in the middle of the pandemic is “abnormal” and warned that it would increase the risk of infections.

Everyone knows that and everyone said that already many times.

How many times more do we have to listen to some advice or warnings without any change in sight?

Suga and the IOC should cancel the olympics and let people enjoy their well deserved summer holidays.

The shear lunacy continues........ALL for nbc & the ioc!!!

When will the govt EVER give a damn about the Japanese people!

Like when a toddler discovers ‘The light switch’: “

Look Everyone! On,… Off,… On,… Off,…”.

Rotating headlines every 2 days now:

“Gov't considering state of emergency in Tokyo during Olympics“ Jun 15 -

Can we get an adult in from overseas to manage this? How many times has this happened and they never learn.

“In order to prevent another upsurge, it is crucial to prevent the people from roaming around during the Olympics and summer vacation,” he said.

Expert medical advice from a government appointed medical advisor keeping to the party line.

No immediate modification of vaccination protocols to facilitate higher rates, a proper lockdown or cancellation of a superspreader sports event.

Just keep the people from moving around in the summer.

At a parliamentary health and labor committee last week, Dr Shigeru Omi, head of a government COVID-19 panel, cautioned that holding the Olympics in the middle of the pandemic is “abnormal” and warned that it would increase the risk of infections.

I wonder if Dr. Omi lost his invite to the post-post meeting clique at the club in Ginza.

So instead of well thought and supported measures that would be extremely effective and have a much lesser cost even if strict, they are going to put badly botched, ineffective requests so the pain is multiplied over a longer time and with a fraction of the efficacy.

The economic costs of every SoE this year should be added to all the other costs of the games.

Cases fall just in time for the opening of the Olympic Games .... what a coincidence!

(P.S. - if I sound cynical it's because I am).

Wait until the games actually start. “Due to a system failure, no figures were available during the two weeks of the games. Therefore the computer recorded a case count of zero for each day. Mysteriously, the system started working again the moment the closing ceremony finished”

It’s just comical at this stage.

monday: athletes ‘warned...or something.’

tuesday: medical journal criticizes.

wednesday: no fans.

thursday: 10,000 fans

SOE considered...called off...made Quasi.

and on and on.

cautioned that holding the Olympics in the middle of the pandemic is “abnormal”

Pray tell, just what has been "normal" with the way Suga, the IOC, and JIOC, has handled things so far?

“In order to prevent another upsurge, it is crucial to prevent the people from roaming around during the Olympics and summer vacation,”

I can translate this. It says “We don’t want our IOC lords and masters, nor the supreme athletes of other countries, inconvenienced by the hoi-polloi of Tokyo so we’ll try and convince them to stay out of sight”.

So, that’s it? The virus will be gone or less lethal up to the opening games? How? What kind of sorcery is this?

Cases fall just in time for the opening of the Olympic Games .... what a coincidence!

(P.S. - if I sound cynical it's because I am).

Wonder if the beer taps will be flowing again after the weekend.

I hope!

Remember: Japan has had the most effective measures against COVID 19 because of how clean Japanese people are. If Japan does have an increase in infections, it's due to international people. So, Japan will try to ease the State Of Emergency, however if they cannot its the fault of the international people. This is a joke and should be taken with a grain of salt.

; - 0

Japan is expected to ease a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and most other areas this weekend, with new daily cases falling just as the country begins making final preparations for the Olympics starting in just over a month.

It's not like the SOE was strict enough to produce credible results in the first place.

“In order to prevent another upsurge, it is crucial to prevent the people from roaming around during the Olympics and summer vacation,” he said.

Well, good luck with that. They discourage leisure-related movements, but they still encourage work-related travel when they can force companies to have their workforce on a work from home setup.

At a parliamentary health and labor committee last week, Dr Shigeru Omi, head of a government COVID-19 panel, cautioned that holding the Olympics in the middle of the pandemic is “abnormal” and warned that it would increase the risk of infections.

The IOC doesn't care and nor with Suga take any strong action. We're a month away from it, let's hope the negative fallout of the Olympics is contained and not that bad.

Nice how they keep blaming the ‘more infectious variants’. It couldn’t possibly the result of ineffective SOEs, could it?

Yesterday they were talking about engaging another SOE through the Olympics. Today they are talking lifting the SOE. Doesn’t anybody know what’s going on?

Also look at the picture - these are supposed to be role models for average Taro & Keiko - dont see any social distancing…

What people don't realize is that the Japanese government has a special relationship with the virus -- they can negotiate with it and it will fully understand our plight. Heck, I mean, when the government asked that the virus remain dormant in non-alcohol serving restaurants until 8:00 p.m. sharp, did rates not thereafter plummet when all restaurant and individuals obeyed? Fine, no, but there's no proof that rates not going down is related. So, now the government wants to put fans back in the stands because otherwise the costs will only be 100 times the amount announced when Tokyo pitched the Games, and so I'm sure once again the virus will listen and understand.

Of course it will just be a cycle.

And it will continue on and on unless we break the cycle with vaccinations.

with new daily cases falling

Yesterday there were 501 new cases in Tokyo which was an increase and the first time in quite a while that the number exceeded 500...

Where is the evidence that new daily cases are falling?

Look we all saw this coming at least those that can think or are not paid to praise the Jgov and IOC.

When numbers were going up and testing was high we all said.

Testing will drop to near nothing a month before the games and that happened.

Now we can safely predict that a week or so before the games public and private testing of the local population will come to a near complete stop.

Here is why:

Jgov and IOC say they will test around 20,000 participants and officials daily the other 70,000 or so daily at first then every 3 days.

That means at first nearly 100,000 daily then ( if on rotations) approx 40,000 daily.

As a whole Japan rarely reached a little over 100,000 tests daily using every public, private, testing facility available.

Tokyo has only a few times passed 10,000 tests.

Neighbouring prefectures said no to Tokyo for using their resources.

So the ONLY way the IOC/Tokyo Government can test 40,000 + daily or even 15,000 daily is by using all available public and private testing they can get.

That logically means taking those services away from the Japanese people.

This is not a theory or conspiracy it is just simple math.

Tokyo cannot test nearly 20,000 daily and Japan cannot test the rest without cutting testing to it's own citizens.

How convenient...

As japan doesn’t teach human rights in school textbooks, why care about all our elderly(24%) citizens? Just because it is start time for the delta/Indian virus strain, 60-80% more contagious, just let it spread.

Everyone here will watch the Olympics despite what they say.

Two reasons...

it will 24/7 on all Japanese TV stations.

because of strict stressful regulations on foreign competitors, free Japanese athletes will win most of the medals.

to prevent the people from roaming around during the Olympics and summer vacation, Wakita said.

Wakita is an Idiot!

He again wants to damage the peoples well deserved summer vaccation???

What an idiot!

With vaccination rate still low, experts are concerned about the increased flow of the people in Tokyo despite the emergency. Many residents have become impatient and are less cooperative with social distancing requests, they say.

What Experts? They have had 18 months to sell this “Emergency” gig.

People aren’t less cooperative. They are more informed.

The flurry of "all-clear" messaging from the LDP's "Last Chance Corona Saloon" is just putting the finishing touches to Japan's Olympic Potemkin Village opening soon for business, but the nuclear option still looms to scupper best-laid plans.

But its not a joke, they will absolutley blame the olympics and the 'outsiders' for the surge that has already happened but they are suppressing until then. They have a scapegoat every time and even now, testing is ridiculously low the cases are very high it is ignored as evidenced by articles such as this.

So discussion have taken place, meetings held, decisions made and the the medical advisers consolidated. SOE lifted.

I really hope that we do not end up with a dramatic increase in infections before, during or after the Olympics. I also hope that there is a plan in place to deal with it if it happens. One can hope.

If we end up with a Super Spreader event, this will not just be a problem in a Japan, it could end up being a world problem.

younger people are largely unvaccinated and infections among them could quickly burden hospitals, Wakita said.

BS! The young and healthy population is not a problem for the hospitals. They don't saturate the intensive care by definition since they are rarely exposed to complications. And Japan should stop now to hospitalize people with mild to moderate symptoms, this does not make sense any more.

In order to prevent another upsurge, it is crucial to prevent the people from roaming around during the Olympics and summer vacation

First of all Mr. Wakita, if you would be worry about the Olympics, your government should have then decided to cancel them. They didn't, so trying now to bring the Olympics as an excuse for whatever measures to again hinder people's freedom is disgusting. That's enough now with this constant blaming of people instead of calling out the absurd inefficiencies of the government in setting up an effective vaccination campaign. Yes people are going to roam around during summer and they have the right to do so. In the meantime you should use your energy by making sure that all elderlies and people that can develop complications with COVID-19 get vaccinated. Period. For the rest you should just keep your mouth shut right now.

But its not a joke, they will absolutley blame the olympics and the 'outsiders' for the surge that has already happened but they are suppressing until then. They have a scapegoat every time and even now, testing is ridiculously low the cases are very high it is ignored as evidenced by articles such as this.

Sounds absolutely apocalyptic.

They never seem to state the recoveries either because it’s not newsworthy.

Maybe it’s time for another GoTo Program?

When people set priorities and rules should not only consider their sides.

Olympic games are not a national championship, it's a worldwide tournament. We all know 2019 Olympic budget was USD 6.7b investment, then think how much was put in 2020.

But, we know lives matter most, however let ask this: based on science facts, being in train and in stadium, or in resto, if we want to protect us and others, where will we choose to be in, today?

Unless we only think that the local activity are corona-free contagious!

In another hand, worldwide, these games will bring back fun, happiness, as they decrease anxieties, ..., which is also a good point to consider. It may even decrease a number of suicides, who knows.

Just advise and encourage people in 60's and above, and most vulnerable group to covid-19 to ONLY consider watching games from home.

Anyone knows how many jobs these games used to create, worldwide?

In the Beijing's, "the Games have resulted 1.8 million new jobs".

Everything, even cancel this games, has a price. Brother & sister, If we can't afford it then LET WATCH THE GAMES.

Stay Safe and Healthy.

That is why everyone here wants the Olympics to be canceled!

Correct me if I am wrong.

Lol no one here really wants the Olympics cancelled.

Everyone here will watch the Olympics despite what they say.

If Japan does have an increase in infections, it's due to international people

Is that not the reason why we all here want to have the Olympics canceled???

Because of all the international people who will come in for the Olympics and bring different strains into Japan?

This is why we all want the Olympics to be canceled, right?

And because we are worried that the japanese volunteer workers get infected by the international people and that they will spread the virus on their way home.

That is why everyone here wants the Olympics to be canceled!

Correct me if I am wrong.