Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Khmer Daily Cambodia News
34 °c
Phnom Penh
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
The Khmer Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home ASIA Japan

Covid-19 clusters break out in Japan’s coldest city as winter closes in

December 9, 2020
in ASIA, Japan
0
Covid-19 clusters break out in Japan’s coldest city as winter closes in
0
SHARES
16
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

TOKYO  – The emergence of Japan’s coldest city as a Covid-19 hotspot has raised fears among health experts that it could be a sign of what the rest of the nation may face as winter sets in and more people stay indoors, raising airborne transmission risks.

The city of Asahikawa, about 140 km north of Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido, is reeling from infection clusters at two hospitals and a care home.

By Sunday (Dec 5), the number of cases recorded on the island was more than 10,000, and Asahikawa had accounted for 16 per cent of the 256 deaths.

It prompted the government to announce a plan on Monday to send nurses from Self Defense Forces to the region and western metropolis of Osaka to help fight the outbreak.

“Hokkaido is a place where due to the climate conditions people tend to have the heater on very high and in very closed spaces as well,” said Haruo Ozaki, president of the Tokyo Medical Association.

“In places such as Tokyo and Osaka, it will also be getting colder from now.

“When we add this coldness factor, it shows that we need to express a lot more caution or we could face a further spread of contagion.”

Asahikawa, a city of 340,000 people, holds the record for Japan’s lowest recorded temperature of -41 deg C in 1902.

Researchers have warned that airborne transmission of the virus increase when people spend more time in closed-up rooms breathing dry air.

“Asahikawa and including Sapporo are in a various serious condition in terms of the pandemic,” said Dr. Yasutaka Kakinoki at Asahikawa City hospital.

The burgeoning caseload has brought the health system in Asahikawa to “near collapse”, he said.

Asahikawa Kosei Hospital has been the site of 224 infections of patients and staff, prompting the facility to turn away all but the most critical cases.

Yoshida Hospital, a private facility in the city, has 184 cases and has had difficulty transferring patients to other hospitals.

“It’s a difficult situation we are facing,” Asahikawa mayor Masahito Nishikawa said in a recent online briefing, asking citizens to avoid the city’s major hospitals.

No harbinger?

As infections surged in recent weeks, neighboring city Sapporo and Osaka, on Japan’s main island Honshu, opted out of a domestic tourism campaign, but those two cities will require “some sort of lockdown” to control the outbreak, said Kenji Shibuya, director of the Institute of Population Health at King’s College in London.

Hokkaido was first to declare a state of emergency earlier this year amid the first wave of the pandemic and it was also largely spared a second wave that struck Tokyo and the large population centres in the summer.

While winter cold and dry air have been factors in Hokkaido’s Covid-19 clusters, a lack of aggressive testing and containment have also exacerbated the outbreaks in Asahikawa, Shibuya said.

Others caution against predicting the contagion pattern seen in Hokkaido could be repeated elsewhere in the country.

Social activity rebounded there faster than in other parts of the country, and that in turn led to an “earlier third wave” that coincided with the start of winter, Takanori Teshima, a professor at the medical school at Hokkaido University.

“The kinetics of pandemic differ between Hokkaido and Honshu,” he said.

This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.

Tags: #coronavirus#COVID-19Covid-19 clustersCovid-19 clusters break outCovid-19 clusters break out in JapanJapan
Previous Post

Bird flu outbreak in Japan spreads to 5th prefecture

Next Post

Avis Cambodia, Park Hyatt Siem Reap, Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra among winners at 2020 World Travel Awards

Related Posts

North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as US air carrier arrives in South

North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as US air carrier arrives in South

by AsiaOne
March 29, 2023
0
2

SEOUL/BUSAN — North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand its arsenal,...

Myanmar junta dissolves Suu Kyi’s party as election deadline passes

Myanmar junta dissolves Suu Kyi’s party as election deadline passes

by AsiaOne
March 29, 2023
0
6

Myanmar's military government has dissolved the ousted ruling party of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and 39 other parties,...

Philippines’ Marcos to shut out ICC after losing drugs war appeal

Philippines’ Marcos to shut out ICC after losing drugs war appeal

by AsiaOne
March 29, 2023
0
4

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday (March 28) said he would cut off contact with the International Criminal Court...

Most Popular

Google suspends Chinese app Pinduoduo from Play store after malware is found

Google suspends Chinese app Pinduoduo from Play store after malware is found

March 22, 2023
37
Russia boosts defences near Japan, accuses US of expanding Asia-Pacific presence

Russia boosts defences near Japan, accuses US of expanding Asia-Pacific presence

March 24, 2023
22
Boris Johnson says he did not lie over Covid-19 lockdown parties

Boris Johnson says he did not lie over Covid-19 lockdown parties

March 24, 2023
22
World Athletics bans transgender women

World Athletics bans transgender women

March 24, 2023
21
Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua release New Zealand hostage video

Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua release New Zealand hostage video

March 12, 2023
20
Latest California storm leaves 5 dead from fallen trees in Bay area

Latest California storm leaves 5 dead from fallen trees in Bay area

March 24, 2023
19

© 2020 By Khmer Daily News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Cambodia
  • ASIA
  • World
  • Business
  • Tech

© 2019 The Khmer Daily.

error: Content is protected !!