The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has already arrived and we are right in the middle of it, the chairman of the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases said Wednesday at the association's academic meeting in Tokyo.
"Right now, we're in the middle of a second wave," said Kazuhiro Tateda in giving his view on the current situation during his opening address of the meeting.
Tateda pointed out that the number of people infected during the second wave has exceeded that of the first wave, although there have been less fatalities.
"It appears that [the second wave] has passed its peak," he said, referring to the number of new infections in Tokyo as well as nationwide, while adding, "We have to remain cautious and watch to see whether the number rises again or not."
Tateda reiterated the objectives of the group. "As an association, our goal is to save the lives of seriously ill patients, avoid chaos at medical institutions and prevent discrimination against those infected," he said.
Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, said that while the government "has no specific definition" of what constitutes a second wave, "if we just look at the number of positive cases, it's higher than at the time when the state of emergency was declared, so there's no mistaking that it's a big wave."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
