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© Thomson Reuters 2021.Ugandan team coach arriving in Tokyo had Delta virus variant
By Daniel Leussink and Chang-Ran Kim TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
64 Comments
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nonu6976
of course the second guy also has the delta variant.
therougou
And yet when it comes to vaccines, you guys always want to compare Japan to US and Europe.
anon99999
The delta variant already in Japan due to its flawed quarantine system and this is just an example of what the Olympics hold for spreading it even further. Were the rest of the plane they arrived in quarantined , and all their contacts on the bus trip an in the hotel..
we all know the answer is no. Read the news from Australia how easily the delta variant spreads even between rooms in hotel quarantine or fleeting contacts from people passing by.
Bobo
Just give’em all suica cards and go spread it, it doesn’t matter anymore it’s here already
Newgirlintown
Japan has not suffered the explosive outbreak of the virus seen elsewhere
Copy and paste still working then? Why is this disclaimer always included?
ian
Japan has not done worse than most of its asian neighbors.
Some Asian neighbors have done better than Japan.
But compared to US and Europe Japan indeed did far better.
Compared to US for example, which has 2.6 times of Japan's population, the US has a staggering 42 times the deaths, 618,685 to Japan's 14,553.
Re vaccines, the US has currently inoculated around 54% with at least one dose, Japan 19% with at least one dose
Alicia Myers
We are watching, you can't fool billions of people around the world.
Phil
So a person tests positive at the airport and then it take 4 to 5 days to find out it is a nasty variation. Meanwhile there fellow travellers are out in the wind and not all of them will be connected with the Olympics. Or worst, every one it negative then tests positive a few days later. What a nightmare.
Watched a YouTube vid today of a Japanese guy travelling from Europe to Japan a couple of months ago. He showed the bus he had to take to the quarantine hotel. Every surface was covered in plastic sheets and gaffer tape. In these times that maybe the best thing to do. Somehow I don’t think our Olympic visitors will be get that treatment.
Meiyouwenti
@cracaphat
“And they had apparently been jabbed before they came, right? Hmmm…so what does that tell you about the vaccine?”
The vaccines are designed to prevent the onset of symptoms once you get infected. They may not necessarily protect you from getting infected.
ian
We'll find out soon enough how bad it will get. Everyone's on their way here now
HBJ
Rightly so.
Presumably the Ugandan delegation traveled to Tokyo completely alone because there hasn't been any suggestion that other passengers on the plane, or any cabin attendants, have been contact traced.
Mr Kipling
cracaphat....
They "said" they had been vaccinated...
Seems to be a lot of trust being exercised. Still, they all got tested and found before they had the chance to infect more people.
Vinke
nonu6976
...as might soon, probably and sadly, many people living in Izumisano..
cracaphat
Something I've been pondering, and I know it's a horrible thought, but: how do we know for sure that the people who say they have been jabbed and tested, really are jabbed and tested?
Fake covid-certificates have been going around, who's to say there are no fake vaccination certificates?
Some athletes are ready to use doping, so I'm not surprised if some of them, perhaps desperate to get in to the Olympics and gather some fame for their country, would use fake vaccine certificates.
blahblah222
Japan will fail to prevent the virus from spreading via the Olympics. Japan government is completely oblivious or simply do not want to know to how the virus functions and spreads, and the definition for "close contacts" in Japan is pretty much impossible to fulfill. Up to even now, the Japanese government still do not recognize the virus as having airborne transmissibility and believes masks offer 100% protection, and still holds the policy that the virus can only be spread by small range droplet infection.
You will need to speak face to face with an confirmed infected person within 1 meters without mask for 15 consecutive minutes to qualify. Pretty much you need to french kiss the infected person as well as having video or other type of evidence to prove to the government that you are indeed a "close contact" before the government is willing to test and trace you. You can work next to an infected person for 8-10 hours for several days straight and still not be recognized as a "close contact" or offered a free test, even if you get a fever you are just told to stay home. Contact tracing is pretty much a hopeless endeavor in Japan, as almost no one can be recognized as "close contacts".
spinningplates
Oh good, just the 2nd small (documented) group to visit, and they've already brought the Delta variant in.
Carry on everyone; you're all doing very well.
Frapoke
lol you couldn’t make it up hahaha we will be so stuffed
Tom
Remember: "Safe and secure"...
The only two words that exist in Suga's vocabulary whenever he's in Diet.
Droll Quarry
Japan TV news is now reporting a total of 5 from the bus infected.
BlackFlagCitizen
Just wonderful. Where is Bach when you need him to answer questions regarding the failed covid safety measures?
didou
In major sports and major nations, athletes are regularly tested and if vaccinated, with a better one.
Many African and South American nations got the Chinese or Russian vaccine , not really efficient. So how much some poorer nations can afford to test their athletes. I guess they have too before the Olympics, but do they really do.
My point is that if there is any concern, that’s from those smaller nations, and eventually journalists and staff.
didou
But major sports events are held around the world without any link to covid surge. It will be the same here.
The increase is gonna start from now as people are back to the izakayas. Nothing related to the Olympics, used as a scapegoat
Fuzzy
Did this story remind anyone else of the Diamond Princess?
blahblah222
Other countries have much stricter regulations and better contact tracing than Japan. Because Japan does not recognize airborne infection as a viable route of infection for covid, I'd say even with 5 infected on the bus, majority of the people on the bus are still not recognized as close contacts. The problem is that Japan never bothered updating their covid close contact definitions or any information since March 2020.
Japan is still using information from the start of the pandemic to define close contacts: "Global surveillance for COVID-19 caused by human infection with COVID-19 virus Interim guidance 20 March 2020"
https://www.med.or.jp/dl-med/kansen/novel_corona/link/8link.pdf
https://www.fukushihoken.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/tamafuchu/shingata_corona/corona_sesshoku.html
Rejinn
There is no way to tell the true extent of coronavirus in Japan, because there is NO mass testing. So Japan's numbers are not apples to apples in comparison to other countries where they has large testing programs.
Happy Day
Both are vaccinated, so how did they get the variant? Do vaccines not work?
US appears to have herd immunity, so cases continue to decline.
But why is the variant spreading in the UK? Many are vaccinated. Do the vaccines not work?
HBJ
With 100k people arriving...
From 206 different countries / states!!
...and then they all go home - back to those 206 different countries after mixing together to some extent.
Whatever could go wrong?!
Rejinn
The Russians gave up their vaccine (Sputnik V) for peer review and testing by the U.S. and Europe. The Russian vaccine has been proven to work.
One the other hand, the Chinese government was not cooperative with their vaccine for peer review and testing. They then tried to ship their vaccine off to unsuspecting or desperate poor countries. Now it has been found that the Chinese vaccine is not as effective as the others.
HBJ
The vaccines aren't magic on their own. It still requires us to take precautions and be patient for 2-3 weeks after the second jab in order for immunity to increase. Even then it's still possible to contract the virus - but the symptoms, and possible effects will be much less severe.
So, taking that into consideration...
1 When were they vaccinated?
2 Did they have 2 or 3 weeks after the second dose before traveling to Japan or did they only get vaccinated a few days before they all met up and left Uganda?
3 Were they still social distancing and taking precautions after the first vaccine or did they let their guard down and start mixing with people before the second jab?
Cameron
It is the delta variant, I think that is currently causing problems in the fully vaccinated population in the UK.
didou
Nothing will go wrong.
But we will know the answer in two months.
Daily saliva tests will be done, Olympic village bubble.
If any athlete dare to move out of the village in the city, guards at the Olympic village and locals will soon take pictures, it will be on social media and the main news. Public shame for those teams in Japan.
The concern for me is from the journalists staying in town. But I have heard they’re don’t have much free time during such an event to go out.
Any news from the Australian Softball team ?
It seems everything is going well for them here in Japan. No covid, no news
Sandoval
Olympics will be safe, they said. Nothing to worry about, they said….
Vinke
cracaphat
A vaccine or medicine that would offer a guaranteed 100% protection or cure doesn't exist. Things are not black and white.
knittyelf
Does anyone have a link to this story in English or Japanese? I did a quick Google search but couldn’t find it in either language
zurcronium
This is the Diamond Princess all over again but this time with staggering numbers and a vastly more virulent variation of the disease. The LDP learns nothing from its horrible mistakes.
StillMove
The rise in cases in the UK is likely the result of the Delta variant spreading among the unvaccinated population. That or the fact I’m pretty sure the UK has prioritized getting more people one dose as opposed to two so they only have partial protection.
Some analysis out of the US shows that since May, 0.1% of COVID hospitalizations and 0.8% of COVID deaths were people who were fully vaccinated
as_the_crow_flies
You forgot to add in the however many hundred thousand local security, police, media, drivers, cleaners, caterers, volunteers, all living at home, commuting to and from Olympic sites, in contact with those 100k? And all those support staff in all the team training sites, and the local teams they will be playing/mixing with in the lead up to the games (which mysteriously ARE happening more than a few days before the official start, so much for that porky they told us) Total several 100k mixing, over a two month period or more, up to September. A veritable cocktail, a viral soup creating perfect conditions to seed new variants.
Then the visitors will go back to their 206 different countries.
So, bearing in mind the Delta variant is already bedded down and making itself at home here, and set to become the dominant strain over the summer...
What indeed could go wrong, either here or there?
Bjorn Tomention
But huffing and puffing and exerting oneself to the maximum is ok if you are on the track or field or dojo or some other sports facility?
You have to be a 5 year old or a simpleton to think this is even realistic, what is it with these olympic fools................really taking us all for fools ?
Note half the Shuto was shut down this morning today probably because some olympic big wig wanted to go some where, it is really becoming intolerable the things they expect people to put up with for the olympics.
oyatoi
Surely, this must raise concerns! It stretches credulity that we’re being asked to believe that 2 out of 9 double vaccinated athletes just happened to have had Covid before they were jabbed, rather than got it pursuant to the vaccinations. The unfortunate implication, which cannot easily be discounted, is that the jab itself was the catalyst for both of them developing Covid. This is not a good look at all!
Jonathan Prin
...What lies ahead ?
Lol
knittyelf
There is a Japan variant, but the Japanese media has been almost totally silent about it. The US had it on a list of variants to watch earlier this year before the Delta variant became the big bad one.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/japan-covid-variant-how-it-compares-to-strains-in-uk-south-africa.html
Antiquesaving
Yes but also including testing, autopsies, tracing, etc...
All things Japan didn't do but the rest did!
Basically you cannot claim Japan has fewer cases and low deaths if Japan is not testing or performing autopsies like the other developed countries.
Sven Asai
AstraZeneca is probably less than 50% effective with delta, so we can statistically expect 5 to 7 out of those 9 or so team members quite infected. Projection that for all tens of thousands still coming here for the games. Pals, you should now early book your ECMO and some well secured O2-bottles guarded by your private militia, if you still haven’t.
Tokyoite
It stops people becoming sick with the virus? After all, they were not suffering any symptoms.
knittyelf
@oyatoi
If you had any basic knowledge of vaccines, you’d know that they cannot give you the actual virus. Geez.
For the ridiculous number of uneducated people posting here:
• The vaccines CANNOT give you Covid.
• Scientists have never claimed that the vaccines can 100% prevent you from catching Covid. If you think they have, post one valid source to prove it.
• The main goal of the vaccines is to drastically lower your chances of SEVERE SYMPTOMS or DEATH, and they do that with a very high efficacy rate. Just like seatbeats help prevent serious injury or death in accidents. No one claims that you’ll never get hurt if you wear a seatbelt!
• The fact that both Ugandan team members had no symptoms shows the vaccine is working. They caught it, but it didn’t cause any severe symptoms.
Jind
Just figure. 3 from 8 Olympics team from Uganda have the virus.
Imagine when the rest of the 100,000 arrive.
oyatoi
That’s what you call a straw man argument. Read again what I wrote; you misrepresent what I said.
Any doctor would totally affirm that a vaccination triggered immune response could leave the body in a temporarily weakened state, one that could more easily succumb to a virus.
virusrex
A completely unrelated virus? hugely speculative and not likely at all. Against the virus for which the vaccine protects against? definitely not. The immune response, including the most initial one elicited would offer at least some protection, there is no vaccine used for humans that can cause what you describe.
Bjorn Tomention
The whole thing has been lies, and is lies, could you trust what a politician says while lying straight in bed, nor could you trust the lies the media tell you and expect you to believe it all, same goes for the IOC and what ever comes out of its media circus.
Jonathan Prin June 25 10:06 pm JST
Exactly nothing but more lies ...................
oyatoi
The certitude of a true believer contradicted by the very science he swears fealty to.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/polio-cases-now-caused-vaccine-wild-virus-67287290
Are they even on your side?
“Because COVID-19 vaccines clinical trials only started in the summer of 2020, it’s not yet clear if these vaccines will have long-term side effects.”
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-vaccine/art-20484859
Zaphod
So what? This "delta variant" will get here anyway, and like the other variants it hardly effects young, healthy people at all. All these ever-shifting policies have little to do with any virus.