Problems With Covid - 19 Data - Sharing System
NHK has learned that the Japanese government has been having trouble collecting data on people infected with the coronavirus through a new information-sharing system.
The central government has been asking local governments to introduce the Health Center Real-time Information-sharing System on COVID-19, or HER-SYS, since May.
Under the system, officials at medical institutions and public health centers input information on virus carriers.
Almost all municipalities that operate public health centers are already using the system.
But health ministry officials say they cannot gather information including the date when symptoms first appeared and infected people's occupation as the system is not yet fully developed.
That information is necessary to analyze the spread of the virus.
Taniguchi Kiyosu of National Mie Hospital, who is well versed in infectious disease analysis, said the data is needed to grasp when, where and to whom infection has spread. Taniguchi called for quick improvements, saying authorities will face difficulty forming antivirus measures without data analysis.
Health ministry officials say the problem has not led to delays in taking countermeasures because they collect data on infected people through the websites of municipalities and other means.
