Japan Fully Lifts Coronavirus Emergency: How They Overcame COVID-19 Crisis

While we see the number of cases continue to rise across the world, and in India, staying locked indoors, Japan has announced that it will be lifting a nationwide state COVID-19 lockdown.

Reuters

This was announced by Japan¡¯s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The nation has till now reported 16,581 cases of the novel coronavirus as well as around 830 deaths.

Japan¡¯s approach to COVID-19

Japan started experiencing a sudden rise in the number of cases during the end of March and the beginning of April. To combat this, on April 7, authorities in Japan declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other regions, and eventually the whole nation. This included shutting down of schools, offices etc.

However, they were given an option to keep businesses open in case needed. Surprisingly there were no penalties for not following these rules.

AFP

Eventually, the number of new infections fell from as high as 700 in a day to just a few dozen, across the country. It is important to note that Japan wasn¡¯t the highest with its testing numbers. Reports reveal that it has conducted only 270,000 tests till date which is the lowest per capita rate in the group of seven advanced economies, according to Worldometer.

While most of the country wasn¡¯t in lockdown since last week, a few areas of northern Hokkaido, as well as areas surrounding the capital, were still held by lockdown protocols until the announcement today.

The Japan Model For Coronavirus

Abe also appreciated the people of Japan in helping flatten the curve and claimed that ¡°Japan was able to show the strength of the so-called Japan model.¡±

He also warned that a new normal must come into place and the three C¡¯s should be still avoided -- closed spaces, crowded places and close contact. He added, "If we lower our guard, the infection will spread very rapidly... we need to be vigilant. We need to create a new lifestyle; from now on we need to change our way of thinking."

However, this so-called Japan model remains a mystery, according to Tasuku Honjo, professor of immunology at Kyoto University and winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for medicine, in a conversation with Brisbane Times.

Reuters

He feels that there are several theories to this. "One is that people in this country like to be clean. They wash their hands frequently and they do not kiss and hug," he says.

He also feels that the widespread BCG vaccination boosted Japanese people's immunity, and it was also possible that the genes of Asian people were more resistant to the virus than Caucasians. There is also a possibility that the strain of COVID-19 to hit Japan was of a weaker variety and didn¡¯t get a chance to mutate.