Tokyo issues alert after 34 coronavirus cases confirmed

The warning she calls a "Tokyo alert"

Tokyo alerts people. Otherwise, nothing. What's the point of that?

Sorry for not being a native english speaker

Totally expected- I Expected to see 40-50 every day this week. The virus is not going to magically 'go away'

@Burning Bush - spot on.

Compared to other countries - EVEN regarding the low testing this is far from failure. The Government made a mess of it - 95% of the residents in Tokyo I strongly believe have been compliant and are continuing to be vigilant. WE have been the reason that we have not seen the devastation unleashed on other cities.

Don't really need to read about Pachinko Parlours anymore - we all know they (and their owners) make up some of the 5% that haven't played ball. Same for the host/hostess clubs as was mentioned yesterday. There are businesses that shouldn't be open.

There will be clusters over and over again for a while. Stay safe - wash your hands, wear a mask , stay in sensible groups - does this really need repeating. If you are really concerned for yourself then isolate. I don't think you will find a single person that will criticise you. But we cannot to continue to halt the economy if there 40-50 cases a day. If we start seeing the hospitals full and excess death then different story but thus far, we have not.

Stay safe.

The 7-day running average is the stat the government should be stressing in its PR, not the day to day figure, which is highly volatile and thus confuses and stresses out the public. Anyone who follows the stock market or measures their weight loss progress knows this. Anyone who studied stats at college should know as well.

for country trying to talk their way out of this pandemic whether it’s 10 or 34

people should be worried and act accordingly

Of 34, 15 are Musashino Sogo Hospital which is a mental disease hospital. The hospital is lockdown and tracing is not difficult. This pandemic continues long. We have to live with it. Otherwise, economy falls.

We are going to be back at square one, because people AND businesses are acting irresponsibly. The virus has not not magically disappeared; it's still here and its still infecting us. Been saying this for weeks and a lot people thought it was no big deal. I wish I were wrong, but I'm not!

In any other jurisdiction on Earth with 14 million people, 34 cases would be considered a stunning success.

As usual, you're not seeing things in its proper perspective.

34 is a single day total for Tokyo. (that the government is willing to tell us about at least)

Infections have been trending upwards since the SOE ended.

A lot of people are out and about thinking things are back to normal (clustering, no masks, no social distancing)

And the media is complicit in all of this (including you JT) for running stories about how businesses are returning to normal, without a single mention of the possible repercussions this might cause.

The government needs to a better job about warning people about NOT being too complacent just because the SOE ended and regulations have been relaxed. I would and have argued that ending the half baked SOE was too soon, but if it had to be done, then they needed to do it a more careful approach.

A third of the known transmission routes are from hostess or cabaret clubs. This of course doesn't include those who refuse to admit going to these places. They need to be closed, but won’t ... the sex industry in Japan is bigger than the car industry in economic terms

There's another elephant in the room reason why politicians are compelled to allow them to do business.

@Yoshisan,

I fully agree with you! That is what I am saying in my posts since many weeks.

Personal Prevention! Washing hands, wear masks, use sterilizer, keep social distance where it is possible!

By saying 34 cases is nothing, I wanted to say that people should not go into a crazy panic, which is much more bad for Japan and its citizen than the virus itself!

It never went away, there just never has been enough testing.

the shutdown was to protect the hospitals from being overcapacity.

Has the government released hospital occupancy numbers? 34 cases doesnt seem like much if 15 were already in a hospital setting to begin with.

@Blacklabel

Has the government released hospital occupancy numbers? 34 cases doesnt seem like much if 15 were already in a hospital setting to begin with.

Only 4.1 % of beds is occupied across the country.

https://www.stopcovid19.jp/

Ventilators including ECMO are sufficiently available; as of today only 116 are active nationwide.

https://crisis.ecmonet.jp/

This is expected but saying it is nothing is very irresponsible. Precaution measures are needed. Increase testing, promote social distancing, wear masks in crowded places, washing hands and hand sanitising regularly, stay at home if you feel sick etc. Just use common sense as no country is out of the woods yet.

Sounds more to me like the government is using this just as a communication tool: "ok we're going to let people know we have slightly more cases so they don't forget to stay cautious now we lifted the state of emergency".

@Alfie

The point, my dear fellow, is that something has been done, boxes ticked, deck chairs rearranged on the Titanic.

What else matters?

Oh yes, and what about comparing the number of tests in Germany, Italy, France etc with Japan also?

Exactly. Japan's test numbers are in a league of its own. Even the figures from China are more trustworthy because China at least don't reject people presented for tests unlike the central government of Japan.

A third of the known transmission routes are from hostess or cabaret clubs. This of course doesn't include those who refuse to admit going to these places. They need to be closed, but won’t ... the sex industry in Japan is bigger than the car industry in economic terms.

How about us expats? when can we leave Japan and come back here with no visa issues?

Alert 1/2/3/4/5...not sure what that means anymore. If you want to stop the spread, just close all Kamakura, snack and karioke places until there is a vaccine.

WTF! But if more than half of them happened in a hospital?!

“Another yardstick would be if the ratio for unknown infection routes climbs to more than 50 percent.”

But people who have unknown infection routes are essentially prohibited from receiving tests under the latest guidelines unless they have critical disease requiring hospitalization.

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000631552.pdf

Tonight's show in "Kabuki Japan": "The reddening of Rainbow Bridge". Amazing!

Which theatrical idea will be next??

Where are all the cheerleaders who bragged about the lack of numbers? about the decrease? about reopening? Now keep in mind this increase is a DELAYED response to the reopening, which means it will further go up. Well done, you guys -- you are partly to blame.

What’s your solution?

Wow, geesh, no one saw that bright pink flaming ball flying in our direction!

And by the way Burning Bush, most intelligent people could see that it’s not about the 34 cases themselves, but rather the danger they represent in an increasing trend of contagion among

126 000 000 people!

The nationwide number is 52, with 0 in Osaka, 8 in Kitakyushu (once feared of a second wave).

Germany plus other virus-hit European states are moving on to reopen readily and quite progressively while some hundred daily cases are still reported. Tokyo's criteria is much stricter in this regard.

noriahojanenToday  07:33 am JST

The nationwide number is 52, with 0 in Osaka, 8 in Kitakyushu (once feared of a second wave).

Germany plus other virus-hit European states are moving on to reopen readily and quite progressively while some hundred daily cases are still reported. Tokyo's criteria is much stricter in this regard.

Oh yes, and what about comparing the number of tests in Germany, Italy, France etc with Japan also?

Musashino Central Hospital in Tokyo said Tuesday that a total of 15 of its patients and staff tested positive for coronavirus.

So basically that means that 50% of the cases had nothing to do with people not being careful in the general population. In the future, if an outbreak happens at a nursing home or some other care facility, I don't think there is a need for the entire city to shut down and go into panic mode. Perhaps more testing needs to be done at hospitals, especially among the staff, but please don't shut society down just so the frail and elderly can live a few more months.

as 34 cases were newly reported in the Japanese capital.

Musashino Central Hospital in Tokyo said Tuesday that a total of 15 of its patients and staff tested positive for coronavirus.

So by this info nearly half of the infections are a cluster in a hospital, its not a wide spread outbreak at the moment, stop the panic and the hype !

@mirai hayashi. Calm down this virus not goin away. Did you test yourself if you have it or not maybe you’re asymptomatic I bet you went to the supermarket to shop so did you spread it? Its not perfect world and nobody is gonna live like a caged animal.

Japanese people soon forget about the past.

A good example is PM Abe for example past doings ;(

Many people in Japan don't know other countries new corona cases are in the thousands.

This kind of news means no one will be leaving or entering Japan in a hurry. For people stranded and wanting to return to jobs and families in Japan, people wanting to visit relatives in their home countries, for taking business or lesuire trips. Increasing infections mean increasing isolation.

34 cases is nothing, there are a lot of european countries which would celebrate if they had 34 cases daily...

but of course, here the "we are doomed" thinking is always popular

I think there was a very famous American leader who was celebrating having 15 cases.

At 1.8 million cases my guess is he is not celebrating anymore.

New increases in cases and no one will be leaving or entering Japan in a hurry. For people stranded and wanting to return to jobs and families in Japan, people wanting to visit relatives in their home countries, for taking business or lesuire trips. Increasing infections mean increasing isolation.

thanks, this is good to know!

Only 4.1 % of beds is occupied across the country.

https://www.stopcovid19.jp/

Ventilators including ECMO are sufficiently available; as of today only 116 are active nationwide.

https://crisis.ecmonet.jp/

So, are they ready to admit that relaxing the restrictions was premature and has resulted in the pandemic kicking off again?

With more than 50% of the new case not being traced to their source people should be very concerned.

social distancing and personal hygiene are the only real defense against the spread of this virus. How do you practice either when packed into a morning train with 500 other people in the sand carriage? The only way Tokyo and other major cities on Japan will defeat this virus is by shutting down Nippon Kaigi for a month, but economics come before public health. TIJ!

Lighting up Rainbow Bridge?! Its pathetic. This school assembly mentality will get us nowhere.

Always some kind of gimick or sideshow to distract. Do they think we are all camped out under Rainbow Bridge to monitor their warning system? Most of the Tokyo working population commute out to Saitama and Kanagawa and never get anywhere near Rainbow Bridge.

ladies and gentleman, here we have another "lockdown supporter" which probably works at home and doesn't care if other people are already 2 months they have been forced to not work

lockdown lockdown who cares i get my salary whatever happens

No one is a lockdown supporter except probably the Hikkomori and I think there aren't too many of them on this site.

However no one is a supporter of dying either, you cannot earn a salary if you are dead!!

What is an "alert" worth if it doesn't shut anything down. There's no siren. We aren't going to be immediately sent home early. It's just a report.

Koike is worried about reelection, that's it. The government has no problem with us dying so long as the select few who own most of the nations wealth survive it. If they could drive from Tokyo to Hakone to relax without any traffic, in under 2 hours, while in the G-class Mercedes Benz, then they will gamble with our lives.

@Asley

Japan to date has done 296,308 testing. Canada, my native country to date has done 1 million 8 hundred thousand tests the population is considerably lower in Canada than Japan, more open space and yet more cases. Why? Testing, testing until that is done we all are in danger of contracting this deadly virus.

There are 7,395 deaths of corona-related in Canada (versus 900+ in Japan). It implies that wider, proactive testing programme hasn't contributed much to saving lives although I never downplay the high quality of local healthcare service.

Reliability problems in testing should be taken into account.

Beware of false negatives in diagnostic testing of COVID-19

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200526173832.htm

A virus carrier testing (false) negative caused a mini-outbreak in Japan. False negative to spikes might also happen in other countries under active testing regime. Diagnosis should be made carefully in multiple ways before confirmation.

Yes Ashley - We are all in danger of contracting this Virus. I don't see anyone posting here saying we're not.

Sadly - and its been appalling, but we all have toi accept now that there is not going to be mass testing in Japan. But like all your posts - your only solution to this is a 'Lockdown' (not legally enforceable in Japan) - or testing which as we've all realised is not going to happen! Do you have a soluition that would ACTUALLY work in Japan and is legally feasible. I don't think you you do.

Keep clean, Wash your hands, Wear a Mask. Stay out of crowds. Its not THAT hard to keep repeating this, is it? If you want to self isolate for the next (insert a random number) then feel free to. I fully respect that.

But we cannot all sit at home whilst the economy crashes around us - jobs lost at a frightening pace with the current death rate. Forget the infection rate - we know its fiction. But where is the death that has happened elsewhere?

How many workers in the entertainment industry have received money to enable them to survive?

I want Koike to give out that number and if it is not 100% then she must supply the funding to allow them to live!

How about she visit a few clubs and donate her salary to the workers?

if an outbreak happens at a nursing home or some other care facility, I don't think there is a need for the entire city to shut down and go into panic mode.

Its precisely this kind of ignorant thinking that will put us back to where we are. The staff were found to be infected...so how did the staff get infected? Most likely from people outside of the facility (either an interaction that a staff member had, or perhaps a visitor to the facility -e.g. patient's family, or businesses that provide services to the care facility).

Then the visors to that facility (courier services, food services, sanitation workers, sales, etc) will be exposed to the infection, and they take it out to their workplaces and families, and spread it to them.....now do you see why its a big deal???

It might seem like a slippery slope argument, but that's how the virus spreads and why its so effective -through unsuspecting people conducting their daily business, hence everyone needs to be warned!

Been saying this for weeks and a lot people thought it was no big deal. I wish I were wrong, but I'm not!

Japan had 900 deaths and people some people here are in an outright frenzy. Another country has over 100,000 deaths with millions as we speak congregating together shoulder to shoulder and all I hear is crickets. Go figure!

The nationwide number is 52, with 0 in Osaka, 8 in Kitakyushu (once feared of a second wave).

Germany plus other virus-hit European states are moving on to reopen readily and quite progressively while some hundred daily cases are still reported. Tokyo's criteria is much stricter in this regard.

Comparing the numbers in Europe with that of Japan is a useless exercise that makes no sense at all,

One is testing and though the numbers per day are higher than Tokyo they have a better grasp of the extend of the spread of the virus. Saying Tokyo's criteria is stricter is utter nonsense, it would have been stricter if Tokyo was really testing, without testing the criteria is just camouflage and flying blind will continue.

Stay Alert

Control the Virus

Save Lives

Now where have I heard that before ?

@Bjorn Tomention

So by this info nearly half of the infections are a cluster in a hospital, its not a wide spread outbreak at the moment, stop the panic and the hype !

You could argue having an outbreak in a hospital (you know, the places which should be following strict hygene and safety guidlines) is worse for several reasons. If a hospital can't contain the outbreak, you think a late night ramen store can?

Sorry, but this shouldn't reassure anyone.

Also, you don't need to quote yourself.

Cognac

34 cases is nothing, there are a lot of european countries which would celebrate if they had 34 cases daily...

but of course, here the "we are doomed" thinking is always popular

There will be alot of european countries with less than 34 daily infection cases if they were carrying out 500 pcr test a day.

She is anyways a failure as a governor

Those who claim 34 cases is nothing much should remember the US had 15 cases in early February , they have 1.8 million cases now.

We are talking about a virus not the brain cell counts of people.

Yesterday on Japan Today I said we will be right back here again. Here we are, again.

Abe has a habit of cocking things up, I’m worried he’s done it again here by ending the soe too quickly..

There never was a true SOE.

Kids at least, are getting back to school.

Overall, the "SOE" did more harm than good.

smithinjapanToday  03:38 pm JST

Where are all the cheerleaders who bragged about the lack of numbers? about the decrease? about reopening? Now keep in mind this increase is a DELAYED response to the reopening, which means it will further go up. Well done, you guys -- you are partly to blame.

On the other hand, the constant hysteria and fearmongering by yourself and others could be partly to blame for 30 cases of a low fatality virus being treated as the end of the world.

Agreed - on this point

While no one is completely immune, chances are far higher for the elderly and infirm.

Most of us have a greater chance of being his by a cycling texter or taxi than getting Corona.

@ Monty, sorry I just thought you were American.

No problem.

I am neither American nor Australian.

I know you're just a troll but:

In any other jurisdiction on Earth with 14 million people, 34 cases would be considered a stunning success

Yeah, I think it's 34 cases out of a small sample of the population lol

It will be more today.

34 cases are nothing!

15 case was nothing also, within 3 month that had turned in 1.2 million infected and 100000 dead.

seriously some people are so ignorants about the dangers of covid19, if there is a second wave then youll know why it happened.

Mirai HayashiToday 06:47 am JST

We are going to be back at square one, because people AND businesses are acting irresponsibly. The virus has not not magically disappeared; it's still here and its still infecting us. Been saying this for weeks and a lot people thought it was no big deal. I wish I were wrong, but I'm not!

don't worry, you are wrong

34 cases is nothing, there are a lot of european countries which would celebrate if they had 34 cases daily...

but of course, here the "we are doomed" thinking is always popular

Where are all the cheerleaders who bragged about the lack of numbers? about the decrease? about reopening? Now keep in mind this increase is a DELAYED response to the reopening, which means it will further go up. Well done, you guys -- you are partly to blame.

In any other jurisdiction on Earth with 14 million people, 34 cases would be considered a stunning success.

The USA had 34 cases on 22 February. Today nearly 2 million.

The only thing to be thankful for is that Japan managed to fight of the virus before and prevent a huge growth in numbers infected, but it may be worse next time.

Been saying this for weeks and a lot people thought it was no big deal. 

Oh? Didn't you know? Science and sound logic doesn't fly in most circles. Its mostly jingoistic feel good noise making.

Do the hustleToday 11:54 am JST

So, are they ready to admit that relaxing the restrictions was premature and has resulted in the pandemic kicking off again?

With more than 50% of the new case not being traced to their source people should be very concerned.

social distancing and personal hygiene are the only real defense against the spread of this virus. How do you practice either when packed into a morning train with 500 other people in the sand carriage? The only way Tokyo and other major cities on Japan will defeat this virus is by shutting down Nippon Kaigi for a month, but economics come before public health. TIJ!

ladies and gentleman, here we have another "lockdown supporter" which probably works at home and doesn't care if other people are already 2 months they have been forced to not work

lockdown lockdown who cares i get my salary whatever happens

@smithinjapan: I'm right here cheerleading - one of first comments of the day, if you actualy read anybody's posts.

12 today. Nuff said.

IMMEDIATELY. PLS STOP PEOPLE from going out. Save lives.

@fillmore2

Isn’t that good..

@Cognac

Awesome Posts!

I wouldn't expect a reply Jimizo. His only solution/idea is 'lockdown'

30 positives needs a warning?

300 cases shouldnt require a warning

WTF has koike been doing???

Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....boring! This woman never ceases to make me fall to sleep!

That was quick (just 3 days!) There goes the euphoria of easing the SOE.

As the testing is being intentionally limited these numbers are inaccurate! Anyway, it’s clear that the government can and are using the numbers to control society. Surely most realistic people can see that as human nature dictates “easing” basically means BAU so it’s back to square ONE, or ironically named ZERO in Japanese!

Welcome to Tokyo 2020, Stop, Start, Stop...it’s a rollercoaster!

Doesn't say the average age of the new cases. Almost certain to be over 60/ and, or with underlying conditions.

Moving forward, the only real way is to try to protect/isolate the vulnerable, so that those in better nick can help keep the economy running.

Only in the double digits after belatedly increased testing? Those calling for more shutdown clearly have ulterior motives that have nothing to do with public safety.

Uahhh...34 cases!

Lockdown! Lockdown! Lockdown!

34 cases are nothing!

@ Monty

34 cases is nothing..