Japan Covid cases reach daily record as ‘third wave’ hits, bird flu outbreak worsens
6682 Mins Read
Japan has reported a record daily number of coronavirus cases, prompting health experts to urge people not to travel in the run-up to the New Year holidays. The country reported 2,811 new infections on Wednesday, as well as a record 555 people with serious Covid symptoms, the Kyodo news agency said.
Meanwhile, a bird flu outbreak in Japan worsened on Thursday with farms in two more prefectures slaughtering chicken in a record cull of poultry as the government ordered the disinfection of all chicken farms.
Highly pathogenic bird flu, a H5 subtype most likely brought by migrating birds from the Asian/European continent, has spread to eight of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
While officials say it is not possible for people to catch avian influenza from eggs or meat of infected chickens, they are concerned about the virus making a “species jump” to humans and causing a pandemic like the novel coronavirus.
All farms in Japan have been ordered to carry out disinfection and check hygiene regimes as well as ensure that nets to keep out wild birds are installed properly, agriculture ministry officials told Reuters.
The number of birds culled, at 2.36 million before the latest two outbreaks, exceeded the previous record of 1.83 million slaughtered in the year beginning in April 2010.
The government is calling for extra vigilance due to the growing number of infections at home and in Europe, which is in the grip of an outbreak.
Japan’s worst outbreak since at least 2016 started last month in Kagawa prefecture on Shikoku island.
Main Photo: A visitor walks through a tiny drinking place street at Shinjuku, Japan’s biggest entertainment area, in Tokyo, after Japan marked highest new infections to the COVID-19 Coronavirus per day.. EPA-EFE/KIMIMASA MAYAMA
