Two weeks into the nationwide state of emergency, the rate of new infections of the coronavirus has been decreasing in most areas, while the number of deaths has been rising throughout the country.
Ahead of the series of national holidays in early May, local governments were urged to press for self-restraint measures, such as staying at home, following the declaration of the state of emergency, which marked being in effect nationwide for two weeks on Thursday.
Using reports on new infections issued by prefectural governments for an analysis on a weekly basis, there were 3,708 new cases during the week of April 9-15, which came right after the government first issued the state of emergency for Tokyo and six prefectures on April 7. That was the highest weekly total recorded since the first case was confirmed in Japan in mid-January.
The following week, after the government expanded the state of emergency on April 16 to cover the entire country, the number dropped by about 10% to 3,230. A week later, from April 23-29, the number was down to 2,002, or about half of the peak. This was seen as being the result of people voluntarily refraining from going out.
However, the situation remains touch-and-go as the number of infected people has been increasing in some areas including Hokkaido.
Meanwhile, the weekly number of deaths has been increasing since late March, with over 100 per week recorded since mid-April. As of Wednesday, the total number of deaths across the country stood at 435, with Tokyo having the most with 117.
Cases of rapid worsening of symptoms after infection of coronavirus have been confirmed.
The Japan Medical Association has emphasized the need for early treatment of high-risk patients, such as the elderly and those with underlying diseases.
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