<
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2025/01/ee88ea62d591-70-mil-covid-cases-130000-deaths-in-5-yrs-since-outbreak-in-japan.html>
'As Japan marks five years on Wednesday since its first confirmed case of
COVID-19, government data show that over 70 million people in the country are
estimated to have contracted the virus as of March last year, while total
deaths stood at 130,000 as of last August.
While yearly deaths have declined since peaking during the Omicron variant
surge in 2022, fatalities remain significantly higher than for influenza, with
the virus continuing to spread seasonally in summer and winter.
Yuki Furuse, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Tokyo,
noted that while it was expected that the majority of Japan's population would
get infected at some point, "the rapid development of effective vaccines,
combined with other countermeasures, helped reduce the severity of outbreaks."
"COVID-19 will continue to place a burden on society. Efforts to reduce that
burden, including the establishment of systems for basic infection control,
must continue," he added.
Blood tests conducted by the health ministry in March last year in 22 of
Japan's 47 prefectures found that 60.7 percent of people possessed antibodies
indicating prior coronavirus infection. Extrapolating to Japan's population of
some 120 million suggests that at least 73 million people have had COVID-19 at
least once.
Based on population statistics, the total number of COVID-related deaths
between 2020 and August 2024, including provisional figures, stood at around
132,000, compared to around 3,600 deaths from influenza over the same period.'
Via Violet Blue’s
Covid News: January 16, 2025
https://www.patreon.com/posts/threat-model-16-120104985
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
