Japan should focus on tackling COVID-19 infection rate in children, elderly: virologist

TOKYO - Japan needs to focus on reducing the infection rate among both children and the elderly, as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to run amok, a virologist assisting the government said Friday.

"The number of novel coronavirus cases is starting to decline among young generations, but unless we see a downtrend among children and elderly people, the overall figures will not decline," said Takaji Wakita, who heads a group of experts advising the Health Ministry on its pandemic response.

Wakita's remarks came as nationwide COVID-19 cases topped the 100,000-mark for the first time on Thursday as the country is reeling from the rampant spread of the Omicron variant, with 34 of Japan's 47 prefectures currently under a COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency.

Wakita called for more flexibility in how beds are managed in hospitals to ensure that growing numbers of COVID-19 patients with serious symptoms and regular inpatient hospital admissions should both be catered to.

In terms of the government's booster drive, meanwhile, Wakita said the third shorts were of paramount importance as part of the country's overall fight against different variants of the virus.

Japanese Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto, for his part, with reference to the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases affecting children, told a press conference that Japan needed to "push forward with encouraging children to wear face masks."