"Daily COVID-19 Cases Approaching 2,000"... Google Launches Japan COVID-19 Spread Prediction Site

Second Establishment After the US
Google AI Utilizes Mathematical Models

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] On the 17th (Korean time), Google in the United States launched a site providing predictions on the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Japan.

This is the second country, after the United States in August, for which Google is providing COVID-19 infection prediction data through a separate site.

The service shows predictions of new confirmed cases and deaths over 28 days, utilizing mathematical models and artificial intelligence (AI).

It also displays graphs of past daily trends in positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, as well as predicted new infections by local government areas.

According to the predictions released that day, Japan is expected to have 53,321 new confirmed cases over 28 days from the 15th of this month to the 12th of next month. Deaths are predicted to reach 512 during the same period.

This means an average of 1,904 new confirmed cases per day.

Japan, which entered its third wave this month, recorded an average of 1,474 new confirmed cases per day over the past week as of the 16th.

Google predicts that the rate of increase in new confirmed cases in Japan will accelerate further.

The predicted new confirmed cases over 28 days until the 12th of next month are highest in Hokkaido with 16,877 cases, followed by Tokyo with 10,164 cases, and Osaka with 7,756 cases.

Japan’s cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases were about 118,000 as of the 14th, and according to Google’s predictions, nearly half of that number of new cases will occur over the 28 days until the 12th of next month.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that Google’s prediction model in Japan has been confirmed to be highly accurate, and that it decided to provide infection situation prediction data for the second time after the United States, so that medical institutions and others can utilize it.

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