Tokyo, 15 September, /AJMEDIA/
The influenza season is in full swing in Japan after an earlier-than-usual start this year.
The season typically takes place between December and March, but health ministry data for the Sept. 4-10 period, released Friday, showed that the flu is already quickly spreading across the country, leading to school closures in many prefectures.
The typical case count that signals the start of influenza season is one per designated medical institution. However, based on reports from roughly 5,000 medical institutions across the country, the national average for the week through Sunday was 4.48 per institution, jumping from the previous week’s average of 2.56.
There were 22,111 reported cases during the week, compared with just 133 during the same period last year, when the average case count was 0.03.
The average count exceeded one for more than 40 prefectures, with 13.43 registered in Okinawa, 8.8 in Nagasaki, 8.58 in Chiba and 7.56 in Fukuoka. The figure was 5.95 in Tokyo.
A number of schools have either suspended individual classes or closed entirely in response to outbreaks of influenza-like symptoms.
During the week, a total of 50 classes were halted in Kanagawa Prefecture, 43 in Tokyo and 35 each in Chiba, Saitama and Osaka prefectures, according to the ministry.
In total, 10 schools across Japan reported building closures, and 627 schools experienced class closures, the majority of which were elementary schools.
Last fall, influenza began to spread in the country for the first time in three years, while the coronavirus also continued to spread across various waves. This season, experts are warning of a possible “twindemic,” as the two illnesses are again spreading simultaneously.
The unusual timing and resurgence of the flu have been attributed to a decline in immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic and a loosening of disease prevention restrictions following the downgrade of COVID-19 to a Class 5 illness, putting it in the same category as the seasonal flu.
Another health ministry report released Friday showed that the average number of new COVID-19 patients reported by around 5,000 designated hospitals stood at 20.19, remaining above 20 for the second week in a row.
