Between May 2023 and April 2024, after COVID-19 was reclassified to Category 5 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law, we saw the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare's vital statistics report that the total number of deaths hit 32,576. That's about 15 times higher than what you'd usually see with the seasonal flu, with the elderly being the hardest hit. The virus's high transmissibility and stable pathogenicity are largely to blame, with a majority of the deaths occurring among folks aged 65 and up.
Now, even though the government lowered COVID-19's classification, citing a lower risk of severe illness, there's still a good number of folks who feel it's a threat. Infectious disease experts have pointed out that, given Japan's aging society, people really should think about their own protective measures.
Elderly people and those with underlying health conditions, in particular, are being advised to stay on guard. Vaccination and keeping up with good hygiene practices are still being emphasized to help reduce the risk of infection. As this situation continues to unfold, public health officials are keeping a close eye on things and advising precautions as needed.
Japanese (日本語)
COVID-19再分類後も高齢者中心に死亡者増加：専門家が防護策の重要性を強調
2023年5月から2024年4月までの間、感染症法に基づきCOVID-19が5類に再分類された後、厚生労働省の人口動態統計によると、死亡者総数は32,576人に達しました。この数字は季節性インフルエンザの約15倍であり、主に高齢者に影響を与えています。ウイルスの高い感染力と病原性が大幅に低下していないことがその理由として挙げられ、死亡者の大多数は65歳以上の人々の間で発生しています。
政府は重症化リスクの低下を理由にCOVID-19の分類を引き下げましたが、多くの人々は依然として脅威を感じています。感染症の専門家は、日本の高齢化社会において、個人が自らの防護策を考慮する必要があると強調しています。
Sentence Quiz (文章問題)
Eh, don't you think we ought to beef up the support for our seniors a bit more, eh?
高齢者への対策をもっと強化すべきでは？
I'm a bit concerned about calling it a Category 5, you know, even if it's more hazardous than the flu, eh?
インフルエンザよりも危険なのに、5類で大丈夫なのか心配。
We're still in a spot where we can't really let our guard down, eh? I reckon I'll keep on wearing my mask and washing my hands.
まだまだ油断できない状況ですね。マスクや手洗いは続けたい。
Even if the young folks are alright, we still need to be mindful and look out for our seniors, eh?
若者は大丈夫でも、高齢者のために注意を怠らないようにしないと。
Related Words (関連ワード)
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| Japanese | Hiragana | English (CA) |
|---|---|---|
| 再分類 | さいぶんるい | Reclassification |
| 伝達性 | でんたつせい | Transmissibility |
| 病原性 | びょうげんせい | Pathogenicity |
| 死亡者 | しぼうしゃ | Fatalities |
| 格下げされた | かくさげされた | downgraded |
| 分類 | ぶんるい | classification |
| 統計 | とうけい | Statistics |
| インフルエンザ | いんふるえんざ | Flu |
| 主に | おもに | primarily |
| 影響を与える | えいきょうをあたえる | impacting |
| 強調された | きょうちょうされた | emphasized |
| 保護的 | ほごてき | protective |
| 明らかにした | あきらかにした | revelat |
| 減少した | げんしょうした | decreased |
| 著しく | いちじるしく | significantly |
| 個人 | こじん | individuals |
| 対策 | たいさく | measures |
| 発生している | はっせいしている | occurring |
| 次の | つぎの | following |
| 考慮する | こうりょする | consider |
*This article has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please click here to view the original. (The original text is in American English and Japanese.) If there are any errors, please edit below.
Created by Hiroto T. Murakami.