感染爆発は「首都圏問題」　尾身氏、対策強化訴え―衆院内閣委

　衆院内閣委員会は１８日の閉会中審査で、新型コロナウイルスの爆発的な感染拡大などについて議論した。政府分科会の尾身茂会長は急速な新規感染者の増加を「災害」と表現。「首都圏問題」との認識を示し、対策強化を訴えた。
　立憲民主党の今井雅人氏は、「強いメッセージが必要だ」として全国への緊急事態宣言発令を求めた。これに対し、尾身氏は「この問題は相変わらず首都圏問題だ」と指摘。宣言発令が長期間に及ぶ東京都などで「必ずしも効果が出ていない。一体どうするかに議論の本質があるべきだ」と語った。
　尾身氏は、感染状況に関し「検査の供給体制が間に合っておらず、検査を積極的に受けない部分もある」として、「実際に報告されているよりも感染者数はもう少し多い」との見方も示した。（2021/08/18-18:35）

Japanese public health expert Shigeru Omi at a meeting of the Diet, the country's parliament, has issued a strong warning against the explosive surge in novel coronavirus infections in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
   At an off-session meeting of the Cabinet Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Wednesday, Masato Imai of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan called for the government's ongoing COVID-19 state of emergency to be expanded to cover the whole of the nation.
   In response, Omi, who heads the government's COVID-19 task force, said: "The state of emergency is not necessarily producing effects although it has been in place in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures for a long period. We need to focus our discussions on how we should resolve the situation."
   The actual number of new infection cases would be higher than reported figures since the country's coronavirus test capacity has been failing to meet growing demand for COVID-19 tests, he said.
   Omi reiterated the need to reduce the flow of people in Tokyo by half from the level in the first half of July. "It is extremely important for the central and local governments to deal with the situation while keeping in mind that this is a disaster."