The Governor of Tokyo extended the emergency and assistance to citizens
Japan is actively fighting the Coronavirus pandemic, but so far it has not been completely neutralized. The other day, the Governor of Tokyo announced the extension of the emergency situation, for which the Government intends to allocate additional funds. According to the new project, an additional budget of $420 million is needed to ensure all conditions of the emergency.
The money is planned to be spent to help residents of the metropolis, as well as to provide all necessary public facilities. In addition, the capital’s administration regularly appeals to citizens to stay at home, not to leave Tokyo, and follow the rules of coronavirus prevention.
Local governments are actively helping businesses. According to the governor’s statement, 4.6 thousand dollars are allocated for the owners of retail outlets or institutions. If a business has more than one institution, it is entitled to $9.2 thousand.
In Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures, an emergency situation has been in place since early April. A week later, the Prime Minister of Japan announced an emergency across the country. This is due to the large number of cases of coronavirus infection and its rapid spread throughout the country.
Scientists around the world are actively working to create a vaccine against the disease, and Japan remains the leader so far. The government has allocated about $800 million for the development of the drug, and experts have already reported on the first successes. According to official information, the country is ready to start vaccine trials this month. Its development is under way at universities in Tokyo and Osaka, with contributions from scientists and other research centres.
In addition to the vaccine, Japan has created unique rapid tests that can detect coronavirus in just 15 minutes. The authorities have not yet agreed to their use, as long as the necessary research is being done and a number of tests are being carried out to ensure the accuracy of the results and the safety of application.
The test was developed by Fujirebio specialists. It makes it possible to identify coronavirus antigens in the human body. In the presence of infection, the immune system begins to actively produce antibodies, which facilitates the detection of COVID-19. The new rapid tests can be used directly in hospitals, unlike the instruments used in Japan today. PCR tests, which detect the presence of RNA virus, produce a result within a few hours, and they need to be processed only in the laboratory.
However, the use of new tests has not yet been approved because they are not as accurate as PCR. Two tests are currently being considered to provide reliable information.
