From May 2023 to April 2024, after COVID-19 got bumped down to a Category 5 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law, stats from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed a total of 32,576 deaths. This number is about 15 times more than what's seen with regular seasonal flu, hitting the elderly the hardest. The virus's high spreadability and not-so-diminished punch are being fingered as the reasons for this, with most of the deceased being folks 65 and older.
Even though the government decided to lower COVID-19's rating because of a reduced risk of it turning serious, many still feel it's a looming threat. Experts in infectious diseases are pointing out that in Japan, where the population is quite old, it's up to each person to think about how to protect themselves.
Particularly, the older people and those with pre-existing health issues are being told to stay sharp. The message about how crucial it is to get jabbed and keep up with good hygiene habits is still being hammered home to help curb the risk of getting infected. As things keep changing, public health officials are keeping a close eye on the situation, ready to dish out advice and necessary precautions.
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)
Isn't it time we beefed up the measures for our elders a bit more, hey?
高齢者への対策をもっと強化すべきでは？
I'm a bit concerned about whether it's alright to label it as a Category 5, even though it's more hectic than the flu.
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。
It's still a situation where we can't let our guard down, hey. I reckon I'll carry on wearing masks 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 folk are all good, we’ve got to make sure we’re careful for the sake of our elders, you know.
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 (South Africa) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | emphasised |
| 保護的 | ほごてき | protective |
| 明らかにした | あきらかにした | revealed |
| 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.