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On July 21, 2021, the Prime Minister held the fourth ministerial meeting on the progress in countermeasures against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the progress in countermeasures against COVID-19.

Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
 “Today, we once again analyzed and discussed the situation surrounding infections and vaccinations.
 
The number of new infections has continued to rise significantly mainly in the Greater Tokyo area, with 1,832 new cases recorded in Tokyo today. Meanwhile, as vaccinations are progressing, we have seen a major change in the breakdown of patients. The proportion of those aged 65 and older to new infections in Tokyo has dropped from the range of 20 to 30 percent in March this year to the range of 3 to 4 percent. In addition, there is no sign that shows an increase in the numbers of new cases and patients with severe symptoms among people aged 70 and above, who face the highest risk. Accordingly, the number of patients with severe symptoms in Tokyo has remained at around 60 over the past days, and we need to continue to closely watch the situation for some time to come. We see no sign of a surge in the number of patients with severe symptoms that results from an increase in new cases, which was previously seen in the phase of expanding infections. On the other hand, infections among those in their 20s to 40s have increased in number, accounting for the majority of patients. The risk of those in their 40s and above developing severe symptoms and that of young people suffering from serious after effects have been pointed out. We need to maintain a high level of vigilance and continue to implement countermeasures.
 
A four-day holiday begins tomorrow, and the Olympic Games start. We would like to request the public to cheer for athletes in front of the TV at home with their families. Furthermore, we ask residents in Tokyo and other areas subject to measures against infections to cooperate as much as possible in teleworking and refraining from non-essential, non-urgent outings. We will implement traffic control measures, including on the Metropolitan Expressway, which will cause inconvenience such as congestion on general roads. Hence, we would like to seek cooperation of drivers as well.
 
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has published quantitative data which reveals that vaccinations reduce infections. According to the data, the number of new infections per 100,000 people is 13 among unvaccinated people aged 65 and over, while that among those in the same age group who have received their second dose is 0.9, showing a reduction of more than 90 percent. The number of vaccine doses administered has reached 74 million in total, with 83 percent of the elderly receiving their first dose and 62 percent receiving their second. We are distributing vaccines to local governments so that we can administer approximately 1.2 million doses per day, in addition to around 200,000 doses administered in workplaces and universities. We would like to complete the inoculations of senior citizens by the end of July as well as those of all people who wish to receive vaccinations at an early time from October to November.
 
As the summer vacation period starts, I ask each minister for your cooperation in containing the current expansion of infections and proceeding with vaccinations.”