Progress in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign may have prevented more than 8,000 deaths of people 65 or older and spared more than 100,000 elderly people from novel coronavirus infection in July and August, according to an estimate compiled by Japan’s Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry.
While new COVID-19 cases are on the decline in the 19 prefectures, medical systems are still burdened there, government officials said.
Takasaki City announced on September 7 that 17 people, including residents and staff at a facility for the people with disabilities, were confirmed as infected with the coronavirus.
The mortality rate for COVID-19 among people with pre-existing health conditions such as chronic kidney disease is about 5.6 times greater than that of people without such illnesses, a survey by Japan’s health ministry showed Saturday.
A foreign Paralympian has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, the first such case among athletes either at the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics, the games organizing committee said Thursday.
On August 29 the Chiba City Board of Education revealed that six faculty members in the city were found to be infected with the new coronavirus, and two of them were leading students in the Tokyo Paralympic Games watching cooperation program.
A person from overseas linked with the Paralympics, but not an athlete, has been hospitalized after testing positive on Monday for the coronavirus. The patient is not displaying severe symptoms, committee spokesman Masanori Takaya said.
With more and more people receiving their COVID-19 vaccine doses in Japan, sales of fever and pain relievers are also expanding sharply. The number of people taking such drugs after experiencing negative reactions from novel coronavirus vaccines is believed to be rising.
Specifically, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will provide financial assistance to prefectural governments to help them conduct disaster training programs targeting managers and senior staff workers of special and group homes for elderly people.
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will begin with the Opening Ceremony on August 24and ends on September 5.
Barrier Free Japan