New Zealand to Japan: pandemic status

A further increase in the number of infections, mainly with BA.4/5 Omicron variants, is a major challenge for authorities struggling with the economic effects of previous pandemic waves. The New Zealand government has announced access to free face masks and rapid antigen testing in an attempt to ease the burden on the country's health care system dealing with an influx of COVID-19 and flu patients during the winter. New Zealand, with a population of 5.1 million, currently has nearly 69,000 infected with the virus. Of these, 765 are hospitalized, resulting in increased waiting times and the cancellation of the operation.

In Japan, the number of new COVID-19 cases has risen to levels unheard of since the beginning of this year. The government urged people to be extremely careful ahead of the upcoming long weekend and the upcoming summer vacation. Japan reported nearly 95,000 cases last Wednesday and the number of newly infected patients has almost tripled from last week.
"The number of new cases is increasing in every prefecture in Japan and is spreading rapidly," said Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto. Tokyo has raised its alert level to the highest. "There will be a task force meeting tomorrow to decide on the restrictions that need to be introduced this summer, taking into account expert opinion," said Governor Yuriko Koike.

In South Korea, by yesterday, the number of daily cases of infection has tripled in a week to over 39,000. Officials expect new daily cases to reach 200,000 from around mid-August to late September, and are therefore deciding to introduce additional doses of booster vaccines. .

Australia warns it could be hit by the worst wave of COVID-19 in the next few weeks, fueled by the BA.4/5 Omicron variants. Authorities said "millions" of new infections could be expected, but ruled out severe restrictions. Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said "we are no longer in the age of blockades and restrictions" and encouraged people to use work from home. Hospital admissions in Australia are already approaching levels seen during the last major wave of coronavirus earlier this year.

What is the epidemiological situation in other countries? In Thailand, cases of infection are falling, while in Indonesia it has increased, reaching the highest rate since March. The number of new infections and hospitalizations in the Philippines remains low, but the government warns it could increase at least 20-fold by the end of the month. Mainland China reported an average of more than 300 local COVID-19 infections per day in July, and there were around 70 in June. Despite the increase, Beijing's restrictive policy ("COVID-zero") prevents hospital congestion.

Source: Reuters