New Wave of COVID-19: Don’t Forget to Ventilate Rooms with Air Conditioning

Editorial

14:00 JST, August 26, 2025

Cases of COVID-19 are prevalent again this summer. People moved around more during the Bon holiday period, raising concerns about the spread of infection.

With children returning to school after summer vacation, there is a risk that the spread of the virus will further accelerate, so caution is needed. People are advised to take care to maintain their health by ensuring adequate nutrition and getting enough sleep.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, more than 22,000 patients were reported as infected with the virus which causes COVID-19 during the one-week period to Aug. 17 by 3,000 medical institutions designated as fixed-point surveillance facilities nationwide. This constitutes an average of 6.3 people per institution.

COVID-19 is typically prevalent in summer and winter. Although the number of infected people this season is lower than last summer, reports began to increase in June and have continued to rise for nine consecutive weeks.

By prefecture, Miyazaki had the most patients per medical institution, followed by Kagoshima, Saitama, Ibaraki and Akita, with infections spreading nationwide. The central and local governments should provide detailed information on infection trends.

The virus that is currently prevalent is a subvariant derived from the omicron variant and is commonly known as “nimbus.” It causes a severe sore throat and cold-like symptoms such as fever and coughing.

There have been no reports of nimbus resulting in worse symptoms than previous iterations, but it is said to be slightly more infectious.

Patients who mistake their symptoms for a summer cold may go out without a mask and spread the virus to other people. It is important to rest if one feels unwell. Elderly people in particular should pay attention to their health and seek medical treatment quickly if they have symptoms.

Due to the record-setting heat, many people are likely to spend time in air-conditioned closed rooms. Air conditioning is essential for preventing heatstroke, but ventilation should not be forgotten. Dry throats increase the risk of infection, so caution should be taken. It is also essential to drink fluids frequently.

It tends to be forgotten these days, but washing one’s hands and wearing a mask in crowded places are basic measures for preventing infection. If each individual makes these habits a part of their daily routine, it will help prevent the spread of infection.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, various infectious diseases have been spreading repeatedly.

Recently, there have been notable spreads of whooping cough, which causes severe coughing that lasts for a long time, and erythema infectiosum, commonly known as slapped cheek syndrome due to the red rashes that appear on patients’ cheeks.

The number of people infected with the virus for SFTS (severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome), which is transmitted by ticks, has reached 135 this year, the highest number since it was first confirmed in Japan in 2013.

It is important to implement thorough preventive measures to avoid infection, based on the characteristics and trends of each disease.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 26, 2025)