Expert Panel Evaluates Japan's Virus Response
A third-party panel of experts has compiled a report on the Japanese government's initial response to the pandemic. They say some of the measures were too little and too late.
One of the focal points of the report was the government's border control response.
Infectious disease experts concluded the virus spreading in Japan from mid-March came from Europe, where the virus was rampant at the time.
The government banned entry from 21 European countries on March 27. That was 10 days after an advisory panel made the urgent recommendation to do so as any further delay would have been too late.
The report says confusion about school closures in February delayed the government's decision on border control measures.
The panel recommends the government to examine the measures that were taken. One of the experts, a lawyer, didn't mince his words.
Third-party panel member Shiozaki Akihisa said, "Nobody was prepared, and there was no strategy. Everyone just made things up ad hoc, which meant there were discrepancies. What should be passed on as a lesson for another pandemic? I think we need to look at how the measures were decided, one by one."
Japan has confirmed fewer than 1,000 new cases each day for the past month -- after hitting a mid-summer peak.
In total, more than 87,000 people have been infected.
Over 1,600 have died.
