The fourth and largest wave of the pandemic is feared by Japan

109 days before the Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese health authorities are concerned that the mutated executives of coronavirus cause a fourth wave of the pandemic, which is in its infancy

Variant strains appear to be more contagious and may be resistant to vaccines, which are still not widely available in Japan. The situation is worse in Osaka, where infections set new records last week, prompting the regional government to impose targeted lockdown measures for a month from today, Monday.

According to AMPE, a mutated strain of the new coronavirus, first identified in Britain, has prevailed in the Osaka region, spreading faster and filling hospital beds with more serious cases than the original virus, according to Wanda, according to Ko. government adviser on the pandemic.

“The fourth wave will be bigger,” said Wanda, a professor at Tokyo International University of Health and Welfare. “We need to start discussing how we could use these targeted measures for the Tokyo area.”

Japan twice declared a state of emergency last year in most parts of the country – the most recent shortly after New Year’s Eve as the country was hit by the third and deadliest wave of the pandemic. Officials are now opting for more targeted measures that allow local governments to reduce business hours and impose fines on those who do not comply, according to AMPE.

Osaka canceled the ceremonies with the Olympic torch in its periphery, but Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has insisted that Japan will hold the Olympic Games as planned. Suga said yesterday, Sunday, that measures in Osaka could be extended to Tokyo and elsewhere if needed.

There were 249 new cases in Tokyo today, well below the January peak with more than 2,500 cases. A record 666 cases were reported in Osaka on Saturday.

The true extent of the mutations in the strains is unknown, as only a small fraction of the positive tests for Covid-19 undergo the genome study necessary to find the variants.

A report by the Ministry of Health last week showed that 678 cases of variant strains, first identified in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, have been detected across the country and at airports. The largest clusters of these cases were found in Osaka and the neighboring prefecture of Hyogo.

Nevertheless another strain, known as E484K, may be more common. About 70 percent of coronavirus patients tested last month at a Tokyo hospital had the mutation, which is different from the strains identified in Britain and South Africa, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday.

The new rise came weeks after the government lifted the state of emergency, and the priority measures now being announced are aimed at halting an unexpected increase in cases with different executives, said Makoto Simoaraiso, a government official. Japan’s response to Covid-19.