Japan grapples to contain COVID-19 spread as daily infection rate hits record high in Tokyo

Japan's health ministry and local governments said that 2,713 people had been infected with the COVID-19 virus in Japan as of 8:30 p.m. local time Thursday, with the daily number of cases topping 200 for a third straight day and a total of 82 people losing their lives to the pneumonia-causing virus.

Nationwide, 218 new infections had been reported as of Thursday evening, while in Tokyo, the epicenter of the virus in Japan, a record 97 cases were recorded.

The government is now scrambling to take preventative measures to curb the spread, yet has stopped short of declaring a state of emergency over the crisis, for the time being.

In terms of COVID-19 cases in the capital, the figure has surged from previous records this week, surpassing 66 cases reported on Wednesday and 78 on Tuesday, further fueling possible calls by the metropolitan government to request additional measures to curb the spread, such as more stringent stay at home orders, social distancing and the continued request for people to work from home and refrain from going outside in the evenings.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his stance, however, that the infection rate in Japan has yet to reach a point where it is deemed necessary to declare a state of emergency, stating in parliament Thursday, "At this point, we have not seen infections spreading rapidly and widely across the country. We are just about holding the line."

The Japanese leader went on to say, however, that, "if we lower our guard now even a little, infections could accelerate suddenly at any moment. We continue to be on the brink."

As regards Tokyo's escalating situation, Governor Koike Yuriko, who has urged Abe to decide whether to declare a state of emergency to deal with the coronavirus spike in the capital, also referred to Tokyo alone as being "on the brink", imploring the central government to make up its mind about the declaration and issuing a potential lockdown.

Prior to a state of emergency being declared over the virus, the prime minister will have to seek the opinions from an advisory panel comprised of medical experts and the level of emergency will have to meet specific criteria.

The first being that the outbreak of the virus be deemed serious enough to result in extreme damage being caused to people's lives and health, and the second being that the rapid spread of the virus threatens to have a serious impact on people's livelihoods and the country's economy.

If a state of emergency were to be declared by Abe in the days or weeks ahead, the government would have extended powers to instruct people to stay at home on a regional or national basis, issue closures to schools, and restrict the use of locations that facilitate large groups of people gathering together or cancel large scale events all together.

The government would also have the authority to demand that supplies deemed essential to combating the spread of the virus be sold to them or requisitioned, and be able to temporarily commandeer private land or facilities for the purposes of providing medical care.

Abe has taking a cautious approach to declaring a state of emergency as doing so could infringe on the rights of people, although the prime minister acknowledged on Thursday that, "It's critically important to prevent a sharp rise in cases in the Tokyo metropolitan area with a large population, which is at the center of economic activity."

Adding to pressure on the government to demonstrably bolster its preventive and counter measures, a panel of government experts warned a day earlier the country's health care system could collapse if coronavirus cases here continue to spike.

The health care system in Tokyo and four other prefectures is under increased strain and "drastic countermeasures need to be taken as quickly as possible," the experts concluded.

In response, Abe told parliament Thursday that ensuring hospitals can provide the necessary care to coronavirus patients, even should the situation worsen measurably, would be paramount.

"It's our urgent task to make sure hospitals can provide medical care to patients with severe symptoms even when the number of cases spikes," said Abe.

Urban areas in Japan have registered the most cases of the virus, with Tokyo topping the list, and nightspots are thought to be hotspots for the spread of the virus as revellers can be in close quarters from the evening until early hours of the morning, in some instances.

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, the pandemic, which many had originally believed predominantly affect elderly people, is rapidly being spread among younger generations in Japan.

Of 416 people who have tested positive for the virus in the last eight days, 21 percent of those infected were in their 30s and 15 percent were in their 20s, NHK said.

Overall, 40 percent of all new cases comprised people under 40 years old, NHK added, with Tokyo officials saying that these figures could just be the "tip of the iceberg".

As Japan's coronavirus situation continues to spiral, the government is rushing to compile an extra budget for fiscal 2020 starting from April in a bid to tackle the crisis, with one of the priorities being on securing funding to fortify the healthcare system here against "an explosive surge in patients," Abe said.

The extra budget compilation is an extremely rare case at the beginning of a new fiscal year and the government plans to roll out a stimulus package next week, which the prime minister himself has described as the government's "boldest-ever".

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 infections continue to rise in Japan with numbers in Tokyo jumping to 684 cases as of Thursday evening, followed by Osaka with 278 infections, Tokyo's neighboring prefecture of Chiba has recorded 190 cases, while Aichi Prefecture has 186.

Kanagawa Prefecture, meanwhile, which borders the capital, has now confirmed 184 cases, the latest figures on Thursday evening showed. Enditem