The Japanese Ministry of Health reported this Saturday that there are 2,223 severe coronavirus patients connected to respirators, a historical maximum that represents an increase of two patients with respect to the figure of the previous day.
Japan ranks 26th in the world in terms of total infections (1.5 million), while deaths already total 16,247, according to official data cited by the Europa Press news agency. This Saturday they reported 16,739 new infections and 63 deaths.
Delta variant
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan reported that the delta variant of the coronavirus, much more contagious than the original, is already the dominant one in the Asian country, which could cause a greater virulence of the disease.
Specifically, 98 percent of infections in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba correspond to the delta variant, while in Osaka, Kyoto or Hiogo they represent 92 percent. The highest case is that of Okinawa, where this variant climbs to 99 percent.
On the other hand, this Saturday the country began vaccinating the population between 18 and 39 years old in central Tokyo.
Political effects
Hard hit by the coronavirus, the Asian country showed this week the political effects of the pandemic when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he will not be a candidate to lead his party in the internal elections scheduled at the end of September, as it decided to focus its efforts on fighting the coronavirus.
The decision, which implies that also will leave the post of Head of GovernmentHe was surprising, since he came to power only a year ago. “I realized that I could not do both”: fight the pandemic and for reelection in the PLD, Suga said. “I had to choose,” he explained.
Unpopular
Suga’s popularity plummeted – in parallel with that of his political force, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – due to the decisions he made to deal with the pandemic, which continues to spread in Japan.
Suga is also very unpopular for his determination to keep this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games at any cost, despite the majority of the population being opposed to holding them.
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