The spread of infections with the novel coronavirus has directly hit the vulnerabilities in Japan's politics, economy and society. The country must make all-out efforts to restore peace of mind to people's lives.
Japan has prevented an explosive growth of infections because many people responded to requests for self-restraint from going out or for suspending business operations. What became serious was that all economic and social activities were forced to come to a standstill. This can be said to reflect the fear of an infectious disease for which there are no vaccines and therapeutic medicines.
The Yomiuri Shimbun has compiled a set of proposals to build a society that is resistant to infectious diseases in preparation for the arrival of a second wave of infections. From medical systems to the way administrative execution should occur, it is necessary to examine all issues that have been brought to light by the nearly half a year under the coronavirus situation and to establish a framework by using them as a lesson.
--Control tower led by PM
A top priority issue is to enable infected people to undergo necessary treatment of their symptoms at ease while definitely preventing the collapse of medical services.
During the first wave, anxiety spread among people since they were not able to take PCR tests immediately, even when they were suspected of being infected. Without grasping the situation of infections in a precise manner, the second wave cannot be prevented.
The proposal calls for improving the PCR testing system and expanding the number of tests to 100,000 a day. Combining it with antigen tests and other methods appropriately, it is hoped the reality of the infection situation will be revealed.
A shortage of hospital beds must be avoided. Place people with mild symptoms in accommodation facilities, hospitalize those with moderate symptoms in priority medical institutions and those with severe symptoms in advanced medical institutions. It is desirable for prefectural governments to make efforts to clarify the sharing of such roles, prepare for places to accept patients and draw up plans to secure beds.
Dealing with restrictions on entering Japan and shortages of goods fell behind the curve. At every turning point, such as the declaration of a state of emergency, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Cabinet ministers, experts and others explained the infection situation and the government's countermeasures. It is difficult to say, however, that they were understood by the public in an appropriate manner.
In order to enhance the speed of implementing measures and deliver clear messages, the creation of a control tower initiated by the prime minister to lead infectious disease measures will be effective. It is vital to build a system to lead by comprehensively considering infection prevention measures, border control, economic measures, information dissemination and other efforts.
It is hoped that policy measures apply knowledge not only from infectious disease researchers, but also experts in a wide range of fields such as economists, the business community and educational circles.
If, based on transparent discussions, the government makes decisions looking at the big picture, it will lead to gaining people's trust.
There have been many cases in which the central and prefectural governments were at odds over such aspects as the scope of industry categories subject to business suspension requests as well as money to be paid to business operators for their cooperation in complying with such requests. The economic sphere extends beyond prefectural borders. To avoid confusion, it is necessary for the central government to create a framework in which it takes the initiative in coordinating relevant measures, while taking into account the circumstances of each region.
--Budget execution system vital
As for economic stimulus measures, it has taken time to provide cash relief and loans. Efforts must be accelerated to restructure the relevant systems.
What is important is to protect employment, which is the basis of people's lives. Small and midsize companies, which support 70% of the nation's employment, have little cash on hand, making it an urgent necessity to support them.
At one point, government-affiliated financial institutions were flooded with applications for loans with effectively zero interest without collateral. When applying for employment adjustment subsidies, which are provided to firms that let their employees take leave instead of terminating their employment, the procedures are complicated. The payment of 100,000 yen in relief aid per person across the board has also been delayed.
There is no point in compiling a budget unless funds are actually distributed. The government must thoroughly reflect on the situation and establish an infrastructure that enables swift budget execution.
Another task is to accelerate digitization, which lags behind other countries. Online handling of applications needs to be strengthened, so that people can receive benefits and loans through simple procedures.
Under the My Number system, each number should be linked to an individual bank account to make clerical work more efficient. The government should also clearly explain to the public the advantages of the system including My Number cards.
A post-coronavirus growth strategy needs to be reviewed. The creation of IT businesses will be sought in the "new normal" in addition to online shopping and delivery services. Companies' originality and ingenuity will be important in this.
--Strategic training of experts
The hope is that medium- and long-term measures to prepare for unknown infectious diseases will be devised.
Japan has not experienced suffering from infectious diseases for a long while. As a result, specialists are sparse in the fields of infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology. It is necessary to invest funds to strategically develop human resources.
An effective approach would be having medical workers with expert training in infectious diseases who, in normal times, prepare for possible epidemics while performing other roles.
A single country's efforts alone cannot prevent a global outbreak of infectious diseases. International cooperation will be essential to develop vaccines and therapeutic drugs and distribute them. It is proper for Japan, as the host country preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, to take the lead.
It is deplorable that there is discrimination and prejudice against medical workers and infected people. The basis for all measures to combat the novel coronavirus is strong public awareness of the commitment to preventing infection throughout society.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on June 22, 2020.
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