No. 1202 Second Extension of Pandemic State of Emergency
Premier Suga Yoshihide has again extended the state of emergency declaration imposed on the Tokyo metropolitan area by two weeks. The government had paid keener attention on economic activities, which triggered an explosive spread of Covid-19. People’s livelihoods, lives and health have been exposed to risks. Prime Minister’s responsibility is grave.
GO FORWARD TO TERMINATING SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS!
Prime Minister Suga announced March 7 to extend the state of emergency declaration issued to Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa by two weeks through March 21. The reasons were explained as a necessity to improve conditions of medical service to patients, a slow decline in the number of confirmed new cases of infection and concerns about resurgence in contagion. No mention was made on a way how to terminate the pandemic.
As a natural course, however, the key objective to settle the virus catastrophe lies in dropping new infections to almost zero, and then preventing contagion from expanding by way of reliable and accountable policies.
Responsibility of Prime Minister
The current government was inaugurated last September, when the premier told: ‘I will prevent an explosive infection of the virus by any means. I will protect people’s lives and their health’.
Matters, however, have been put on an adverse track to today. As the government shifted to implementing the controversial Go-To Travel subsidy program, or it went on an economy-first path, in a parallel way infections surged rapidly nationwide during autumn and winter. Even today in March around a thousand of new cases are confirmed a day. No prospect is seen on termination of pandemic.
As of March 5, the cumulative deaths were 8,198. New deaths count 6,837 after the Suga administration started. Responsibility of Premier is enormous as his policies have caused an explosive spread of virus and his inattention to protect people’s lives and health have brought tragic consequences.
Find a way to end pandemic
Even if the extended state of emergency brings effective results, that only means the situation will have been recovered to the Stage-3 (a phase of rapid increase of infection). Factors for possible resurgence remain as they are. If variant types of coronavirus prevail, volatility emerges again immediately.
Duties that the government is to fulfill are: firstly, policies should work to reduce to almost zero the number of infections in the communities, or to stay at Stage-1 (infection is confirmed in a sporadic way), then, sufficient compensations should be made till the situation reaches that stage, and, lastly, measures should be taken to steadily go down new cases of infection.
It is out of question to resume the Go-To Travel campaign in the metropolitan area before the pandemic is terminated. It is because this zone, especially the central, special administrative ward of Tokyo, is the very center of contagion to affect on the whole country.
Urgent tasks
The government has committed at last in the occasion of extension of the declaration in testing of the virus at elderly care facilities across the nation and among asymptomatic patients in large cities.
Tasks are, however, colossal. The most urgent ones are; (1) total controlling and screening of incoming passengers at the immigration posts, (2) speedy development of treatment medicines and (3) measures to treat patients with aftereffects.
The government should compile and carry out comprehensive policies hastily to cope with the hard time.
菅首相は３月５日、東京と神奈川・埼玉・千葉での緊急事態宣言を３月２1日まで２週間延長した。延長理由は、医療提供体制改善の必要、感染者の減少鈍化とリバウンドヘの懸念である。ここには、感染収束への道は語られていない。
だが、当然にコロナ禍対策の基本目標は、新規感染者をゼロ近くまで押し下げることにある。その上で、感染の再拡大を腰を据えて防止することである。
菅首相は昨年９月の内閣発足にあたり、「爆発的な感染を絶対に防ぎ、国民の命と健康を守る」と表明した。
しかし、その後の展開は真逆であり、政府がＧｏＴｏ事業など経済に軸足を移すに比例して、秋から冬、感染の爆発が日本を覆った。今なお、１日１０００人前後の新規陽性判定者が生じ、収束の目途はたっていない。
しかも、今年３月５日時点の累計で、８１９８人もの方が亡くなっている。菅内閣発足時に比べ、実に６８３７人もの方が新たに亡くなっているのだ。
感染爆発を誘発し、命と健康を守ることを怠った菅首相の責任はきわめて重大である。
宣言再延長が効果を生んでも、ステージ３ 「感染急増段階」に戻すだけで、リバウンドの要因は広く残ったまま。そこに感染力の強い変異株が拡散すれば、あっと言う間に再びの感染爆発に至る。
政府がなすべきことは、政策目標を市中感染がほぼゼロの「感染が散発的に発生」（ステージ1）に置き、この状態到達まで、十分な補償を整えつつ、新規感染者を着実に減少させることにある。
首都圏でのＧｏＴｏトラベル再開は、コロナ感染の終息まであってはならない。首都圏、とりわけ東京都の区部は全国的感染の集積地（エピセンター）だからである。
政府は、再延長に際し、高齢者施設や大都市無症状者への陽性検査をようやく掲げた。
だが、取り組むべき課題は山積する。重点課題を三つだけ挙げると、入国者管理の徹底、治療薬の早期開発、後遺症＝ロングコビットヘの対策がある。
政府は、急ぎ総合的な対コロナ禍政策を作成し実施に移さねばならない。
英訳版↓
No. 1202 Second Extension of Pandemic State of Emergency
Premier Suga Yoshihide has again extended the state of emergency declaration imposed on the Tokyo metropolitan area by two weeks. The government had paid keener attention on economic activities, which triggered an explosive spread of Covid-19. People’s livelihoods, lives and health have been exposed to risks. Prime Minister’s responsibility is grave.
GO FORWARD TO TERMINATING SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS!
Prime Minister Suga announced March 7 to extend the state of emergency declaration issued to Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa by two weeks through March 21. The reasons were explained as a necessity to improve conditions of medical service to patients, a slow decline in the number of confirmed new cases of infection and concerns about resurgence in contagion. No mention was made on a way how to terminate the pandemic.
As a natural course, however, the key objective to settle the virus catastrophe lies in dropping new infections to almost zero, and then preventing contagion from expanding by way of reliable and accountable policies.
Responsibility of Prime Minister
The current government was inaugurated last September, when the premier told: ‘I will prevent an explosive infection of the virus by any means. I will protect people’s lives and their health’.
Matters, however, have been put on an adverse track to today. As the government shifted to implementing the controversial Go-To Travel subsidy program, or it went on an economy-first path, in a parallel way infections surged rapidly nationwide during autumn and winter. Even today in March around a thousand of new cases are confirmed a day. No prospect is seen on termination of pandemic.
As of March 5, the cumulative deaths were 8,198. New deaths count 6,837 after the Suga administration started. Responsibility of Premier is enormous as his policies have caused an explosive spread of virus and his inattention to protect people’s lives and health have brought tragic consequences.
Find a way to end pandemic
Even if the extended state of emergency brings effective results, that only means the situation will have been recovered to the Stage-3 (a phase of rapid increase of infection). Factors for possible resurgence remain as they are. If variant types of coronavirus prevail, volatility emerges again immediately.
Duties that the government is to fulfill are: firstly, policies should work to reduce to almost zero the number of infections in the communities, or to stay at Stage-1 (infection is confirmed in a sporadic way), then, sufficient compensations should be made till the situation reaches that stage, and, lastly, measures should be taken to steadily go down new cases of infection.
It is out of question to resume the Go-To Travel campaign in the metropolitan area before the pandemic is terminated. It is because this zone, especially the central, special administrative ward of Tokyo, is the very center of contagion to affect on the whole country.
Urgent tasks
The government has committed at last in the occasion of extension of the declaration in testing of the virus at elderly care facilities across the nation and among asymptomatic patients in large cities.
Tasks are, however, colossal. The most urgent ones are; (1) total controlling and screening of incoming passengers at the immigration posts, (2) speedy development of treatment medicines and (3) measures to treat patients with aftereffects.
The government should compile and carry out comprehensive policies hastily to cope with the hard time.
March 16, 2021