CNN "Japan COVID-19 Cases Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg... Could Be Over 10 Times More"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The US CNN reported that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) announced by the Japanese government is just the tip of the iceberg, and the actual number of infected people is much higher. It is known that the number of people tested for COVID-19 in Japan so far is only about 8,000.

On the 5th (local time), CNN published an article titled "Japan's COVID-19 cases may be just the tip of the iceberg," stating, "Japan's official statistics are just the tip of the iceberg, and the actual number of infected people is generally believed by Japanese private experts to be much higher than the government's announcement." Masahiro Kami, head of the Medical Governance Research Institute, a Japanese non-profit organization, said in an interview with CNN, "The number of COVID-19 patients in Japan is already much higher than reported, and the currently revealed infection rate is just the tip of the iceberg."

Mr. Masahiro said, "There are likely many undiagnosed patients," adding, "Most of them have no symptoms or mild symptoms, so they do not go to the hospital or get tested." CNN reported, "Although the Japanese government says it can test 3,800 people per day, only 8,111 people had been tested as of the 4th." As of midnight on the 5th, the cumulative number of virus tests in South Korea was 140,775. The reason why the number of tests in Japan is much lower than in South Korea is known to be due to the strict testing guidelines of the health authorities. According to CNN, Japanese health authorities require that people have cold symptoms, a fever of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher, and severe fatigue or difficulty breathing lasting more than four days to be eligible for testing.

Professor Hiroshi Nishiura, an epidemiologist at Hokkaido University who also participated in building the government's virus spread simulation model, predicted that the number of COVID-19 infections in Japan would be about 10 times the official statistics. According to Professor Nishiura's prediction model, the number of infected people in Japan is estimated to exceed 10,000. Professor Nishiura evaluated that the epidemic situation in Japan predicted by his model is consistent with what happened in Wuhan, the origin of COVID-19. The Japanese government also agreed that the number of infected people is higher than the confirmed cases. In a response sent to CNN, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan stated, "The government believes there are unidentified infected people." However, the estimated number of infected people was expected to be around 3,000, much lower than Professor Nishiura's prediction.

Kenji Shibuya, former WHO policy coordinator and director of the London King's College Population Health Research Institute, also stated that to alleviate public anxiety, the Japanese government should lower the threshold for testing while prioritizing high-risk groups such as the elderly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.