Omicron strain expands rapidly: to consider diagnosis only by symptoms without doing examination towards the younger generation

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

オミクロン株急拡大 若い世代 検査せず症状だけで診断も検討

2022年1月20日 20時00分

急激な感染拡大を起こしているオミクロン株の対策について、新型コロナウイルス対策にあたる専門家らは、さらに感染者が急増した場合には医療や検査がひっ迫する可能性があるとして、重症化リスクの低い若い世代は検査を行わず、症状だけで診断することを検討し、重症化するリスクがある高齢者などの医療を確保すべきだとする見解をまとめました。

感染拡大のペースが速い一方、特に若い世代で重症化する割合が低いとして、「人流抑制」ではなく、感染リスクが高い場面や場所での「人数制限」など、オミクロン株に応じた効果的な対策をとるべきだとしています。

この見解は、政府の分科会や厚生労働省の専門家会合のメンバーなどがまとめました。

この中では、感染拡大のスピードが極めて速いオミクロン株について、各国のデータを見ても感染拡大から遅れて重症者や亡くなる人が増加している一方、基礎疾患がない50歳未満の人の多くは症状が軽く、自宅療養で回復していると指摘しています。

こうした特徴を踏まえ、専門家らは医療のひっ迫が起きない程度に感染者数をおさえ、医療や教育など社会機能への影響を最小限にしながら、重症化リスクのある人への医療を確保することで亡くなる人の数を最小化することが対策の目的になるとしています。

そのうえで、高齢者など重症化リスクのある人への医療を確保し、コロナ以外の一般診療とも両立する必要があり、今後、感染がさらに急増した場合は医療や検査がひっ迫する可能性があるため、若い世代については検査せずに症状だけで診断を行うことを検討すべきとしています。

また、オミクロン株では、3密を避けることが守られていない、大人数で大声を出す換気の悪い場所での会食やパーティーなどで多くのクラスターが起きているとしていて、外出自粛といった「人流抑制」ではなく、感染リスクの高い場面での接触機会を減らす「人数制限」が必要だとしています。

一方でクラシックコンサートやスポーツ観戦などについてはこれまで行ってきた基本的な対策を徹底し、都道府県をまたぐ移動自体は制限する必要はないものの、移動先での感染リスクの高い行動は控えてほしいと呼びかけています。

Translation

Regarding countermeasures for the Omicron strain which was causing a rapid spread of infection, experts in countermeasures against the new coronavirus said that if the number of infected people increases rapidly, medical care and tests might become tight, and towards the younger generation that had low the risk of aggravation, diagnosing them only by symptoms without doing tests would be considered, and summarized the view that medical care should be secured for elderly people who were at risk of becoming severely sick.

While the pace of infection spread rapidly, and the rate of aggravation was low especially among the younger generation, it was said that not only “controlling human flow", in situations and places where the risk of infection was high, to introduce "restriction of the number of people" etc., measures should be taken that were effective in response to the Omicron strain.

These were views put together based on ideas from members from the government subcommittee meeting, and experts of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Among these views, regarding the Omicron strain, according to the data of individual countries, after the spread of infection which was extremely fast and wreaking lives, while the number of people who were seriously ill or die was increasing, it was pointed out that regarding the number of people under the age of 50 who had no underlying disease, their symptoms were mild and were recovering from home care.

Based on these characteristics, the target of the expert would be to control the number of infected people so as not to overburden the medical system, to minimize the impact on medical care and social functions such as and education, to secure medical care for people at risk of aggravation and thus minimized the number of deaths.

On top of that, while it was necessary to secure medical care for people at risk of serious illness such as the elderly, it had to be compatible with general medical care on illness other than corona. If the infection increased further in the future, medical care and tests might become tight. For the younger generation, making a diagnosis based only on the symptoms without doing testing should be considered.

In addition, in the Omicron strain, it was said that, without avoiding the three closeness, many clusters were occurring at dinners and parties in poorly ventilated places where a large number of people were talking loudly.  Not only "controlling people flow" such as to refrain from going out, it was supposed that in locations where there was a high risk of infection, to “limit the number of people” so as to reduce contact opportunities would be necessary.

On the other hand, for classical concerts and watching sports, it would like to implement thoroughly the basic measures that had taken so far, and while it was not necessary to limit the movement across prefectures itself, appeal was made in preferring refraining from actions that had a high risk of infection at the traveling destination.

              So, in Japan, in order to save medical resources, towards the younger generation that may have low risk of aggravation, diagnosing them would be done only by observing the symptoms without performing medical tests. The focus of the government is to ensure that the medical care for people at risk of aggravation will be available so as to reduce deaths, and to avoid the collapse the medical system.