On Covid-19 anniversary, Japan’s doctors worry about complacency

As Japan marks the fifth anniversary of its first confirmed novel coronavirus infection on Wednesday, medical professionals have expressed optimism that the government, healthcare sector and public have gained insights from the pandemic, making them better prepared for future health crises.

Overconfidence could be dangerous, however, particular with the abandonment of health precautions. This is evident in the surge of influenza cases this winter, which have reached levels not seen since data collection began in 1999.

“We have learned many things from the pandemic, perhaps things we should have learned earlier,” said Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases and a member of a panel set up to advise the Japanese government at the start of the Covid-19 crisis in early 2020.

Japan was unaffected by the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) in 2012, Tateda noted.

“Japan did report cases of swine flu in 2009 and that would have been the time to reflect on how we should prepare for the next health crisis,” he told This Week in Asia.

“But we did not do that reflection. Then the coronavirus was here, and we should have taken more precautions against the pandemic but we hadn’t.”