On 19 January, there were 96,392 new cases and 451 new deaths, the highest daily recorded. We assume “active” means exactly that: people who have active disease and are capable of infecting their contacts and assume also that deaths are in SARS-CoV-2 positive people and the agents have contributed substantially to the demise.
Given this increase, why has the Japanese government relaxed travel restrictions and mask mandates?
It looks like the Prime minister has had enough as Japan faces its eighth covid wave: a return to normality might be on the cards. The PM announced downgrading the legal status of Sars-CoV-2 to the equivalent of seasonal influenza.