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© KYODO1st community spread of Omicron variant reported in Osaka Prefecture
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Iron Lad
Bad news!
Keep the borders closed!
Raw Beer
This could be a good thing, perhaps an ideal live attenuated virus vaccine.
jeancolmar
At this moment President Biden and others are going all out to get people inoculated. And meanwhile in Japan--nothing. Omicron likely in Osaka. Ho-hum. What's the worry?
Dee
This goes to show that there's something wrong with testing and quantine procedures at the airports.
Rob Nads
Good news. The sooner this milder variant rips through the population, the sooner the government can discontinue futile measures such as border closures.
Newgirlintown
Here we go…
Newgirlintown
“Yoshimura called on residents to take measures to prevent infection " What? Like wearing a mask, washing your hands and social distancing? Isn’t that what everybody’s been doing for the last two years?
prionking
If the results from Africa are anything to go by, there's not too much to worry about. Just ignore the scaremongers.
Garthgoyle
Did Goto mention when Go-To campaign will start?
Iron Lad
@prionking
Africa has been pretty mild regarding Covid so far, please don't use it as an example.
hattorikun
Thank you Allen!
Sanjinosebleed
Omicron is the Christmas gift we have all been waiting for to end this madness!!!!
Sth Africa's stats are testament to the mildness of this strain!
Merry Christmas!
hattorikun
@Newhirlintown.
”“Yoshimura called on residents to take measures to prevent infection " What? Like wearing a mask, washing your hands and social distancing? Isn’t that what everybody’s been doing for the last two years?”
what is wrong with that call?
if we had not done what we have for the last two, and many before COVID, the damage by COVID might have been a lot worse.
prionking
I may have had a very mild case of the virus last year, but if not, this version might be a good one to catch and get the naturally acquired immunity, if I don't have it already.
Paul
Raw BeerToday 05:00 pm JST
LOL Obviously you didn't read the latest news that Omicron kills the unvaccinated!!!
So a good thing for who?
hattorikun
“I may have had a very mild case of the virus last year, but if not, this version might be a good one to catch and get the naturally acquired immunity, if I don't have it already.“
my friend in the UK, who btw was double jabbed, said the other day he might intentionally get the new variant if it is to attack him… Not sure how that would end up bit hope all ends well.
prionking
The've been awfully ambiguous about that. People who have apparently died in these cases have had significant other comorbidities, and the reports have been coy about whether the people died WITH or OF the virus, citing "privacy reasons" in the case of the UK.
In other words, its BS. Fortunately the UK hasn't implemented more restrictions for now, probably because trust in the government continues to slide and fewer people are taking them seriously anymore.
For all Japan's faults, governments here has behaved reasonably well over the last couple of years, especially when compared to Australia, NZ, most of the US states, Canada, the UK and most of Europe. That said, Yoshimura never misses and opportunity to go on TV and look concerned.
Raw Beer
Were they killed by Omicron, or are they unvaccinated persons who died and happened to have been infected by Omicron?
Also, even if people are actually killed by Omicron, that number will most likely be lower than the number of people killed by the vaccines.
I believe the Omicron virus might produce milder symptoms than the current vaccines, while conferring broad long-lasting immunity (i.e., no need for boosters every 3-8 months).
GBR48
Trying to dodge the inevitable is pointless, has consequential costs and few benefits. Mild cases increase general antibody loads and protect against future variants.
There is no evidence that Omicron will impact the way Delta did and we now have multiple healthcare options. In a nation of 125 million people, news outlets are counting tiny numbers of deaths the way they logged higher flu deaths.
There is no point in hospitalising those with mild symptoms. It just puts people off being tested as they do not want to be dragged from their families and imprisoned in a hospital with others and an increasing viral load, or a hotel room for two weeks.
Governments seem intent on responding to previous variants rather than the one they are faced with.
As Covid has replaced seasonal flu, the mortality rate will probably decline from pre-pandemic norms again this year. We are hiding from this?
Iron Lad
Yes!
Raw Beer
In per capita Covid deaths, Japan is 153rd. Pretty good no?
Luddite
Still using the old ‘head in the sand’ policy. Omicron is extremely transmissible, now is not the time to sit back and wait.
Yubaru
Get vaccinated, get the booster, and if you catch it, the odds are high you will be asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms.
Just like the flu vaccination, it does not make you immune, it just lessens the symptoms if you catch it.
Why in the world are so many people CHOOSING to be ignoramuses' about this vaccine? Get the full regimen and if by chance you do catch it, you have a much better chance of surviving it!
Or you can choose to take Lysol instead.
Iron Lad
@Luddite
Well, they close the borders and are developing anti-Covid pills, what more could they do atm?
More vaxx shots?
thelonius
Why do they need to go in hospital? Are they in seriously bad shape? Why risk spreading it to folks in hospital who are sick already?
virusrex
Since much safer vaccines are already available with less risk and proved efficacy there is no way this is a good thing to catch.
The doctors of South Africa that deal with the patients are firm proponents of vaccination and boosters to control Omicron, they say you are wrong by saying there is not "too much to worry about".
No, it is not, the same as the myocarditis that you firmly said never happened from COVID, until you found out you were totally wrong. In this case is the same, the evidence clearly points out that Omicron is not a safe infection to get (even the hospitalizations clearly indicate this) being in denial is not a rational position to take.
COVID is clearly correlated with complications and deaths, saying people died "only" with Omicron is like saying children that die from easily treatable infections did it "only" with sever malnutrition. Unless you can prove there is no increase of the risk considering COVID (even from omicron) an important contributing factor is perfectly valid.
Vaccines do the same at a lesser level of risk, specially since they have already proved they provide protection against all variants identified until now. What evidence do you have that immunity by Omicron protects against other variants and will do it for further ones?
Not really, governments learned not to understimate variants and take measures before it is too late, after all not being opportune have much higher cost in lives.
This is thanks to widespread vaccination and fanatic level obedience to social distancing rules, listening to the science instead of anti-scientific conspiracy believers.
virusrex
Spreading disinformation is a terribly thing during a pandemic, pretending to know more than the experts and that an infection that frequently causes hospitalizations is "safer" than a vaccine that simply does not is deeply irresponsible, and too obviously biased.
Yubaru
I never assumed to say that you should be sick or dead, that is your experience, but as you can see from the numbers around the world, millions have a different experience.
Just because you live a hermits life and stay away from those infected, that's fine for you.
It's childish and ignorant to state things like you have here, when I never said nor assumed them!
louisferdinandc
The variant is here (obviously) but let’s not track the cases in Japan and keep the borders closed to any new arrival. Then wait until the cases are so numerous that you need a scapegoat and open the borders. Point fingers. Repeat.
dan
Japan under 250 cases a day & one or two deaths.
The UK 88,00- 90,000 cases a day and around 50 deaths.
It seems Japan is doing something very right even with the low amount of meaningless testing.
he vaxxed and unvaxxed have something in common though ...They will never be fully vaccinated!
dan
The vaxxed that should read
Zeram1
The Gov. should have said “It is most likely Japan's first KNOWN case of community spread”
Zeram1
AllenToday 06:20 pm JST
@paul
It was reported a few days ago that the patient previously had a different covid infection, and that he was never vaccinated, and why are you claiming that it was a “supposed” death? Baseless statements are not helpful, but if that’s your way to live life, then carry on.
Blacklabel
I simply dont see why such the insistence for people to be traveling around all over the place at this exact moment.
Blacklabel
I still have only heard of 1 death. the person in Texas who we recently found died (omicron) positive but didnt necessarily die from omicron.
That is what the hospital spokesperson said- with omicron, yes. From omicron, unclear.
louisferdinandc
@blacklabel « this exact moment » is approaching two years. I have a niece born in March 2020 that I have seen for 3 days in total (which costed me 6 days in hotel isolation once back), and that my son hasn’t met yet despite being his only cousin. I have lost most of my international consulting jobs, while the company like many others moved the regional headquarters elsewhere. During the same two years period, if she wanted my Japanese mother in law could have visited my country every month, enter without quarantine, meet all my family and friends, participate in all the work meetings I have skipped in two years, and come back. In the meantime, no member of my family, no colleague from my company, and obviously no friend have been able to enter Japan for two years. So it’s kind of the minimum that those of us who can travel, despite the obstacles and frankly absurdly unique situation, try to keep together the pieces of work and income and affects left. If you don’t see the reasons for us to travel, you have all your beloved ones here and a job that can be done from home or only requires you to take packed trains (notoriously not a place where viruses can thrive) to packed offices (no virus there) and end the day go to a packed soccer game (the minimum attendance has been of 5,000 people even during the state of emergency).
Mordan
Main problem with those governmental decisions is that they just offer some vague advice and just drop the ball of responsibility to us. And the key word is responsibility here, because Japanese people hate it. So they just get the easy way out by telling you and me that we did something wrong or not good enough.
People are angry because of all those empty statements that they will "Support" the public without being anywhere near specific. Telling us to follow guidelines but not bother to mention how.
It's a dangerous game and they are gambling our lives and livelihoods like chips in a card game we're not even invited at.
jeancolmar
From the above article: ". . . three family members having no history of travel overseas being infected through unknown routes." Question: did any one these people eat outside the home? You don't have to travel abroad to get the disease.
My concern is that these mild symptoms could develop into something worse.
In the U.S. many municipalities are lining up and waiting hours for their jabs. New York City is offering its citizens $100 to get a jab.
Does the U.S. know something we don't over here.