1) BREAKING: A month after Japan downgraded #COVID19 to the seasonal flu, the country is now beset with a 9th wave of infections. In this thread, I will explore the persistence of the #pandemic that everyone — especially politicians — wants to forget.
2) First, it's worth noting that the number of #COVID hospitalizations in the nation of 125 million rose to 4,330 from 4,122 a week before. The seven-day average for the number of patients in intensive care units was 79, according to the Japan Times.
3) It appears that XBB subtypes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are driving the latest wave of infections in Japan. Meanwhile, China has recorded a more than five-fold surge in the number of people diagnosed with COVID in hospitals since April. China is also bracing for another wave.
4) In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday issued its forecast for #COVID hospitalizations. Its projecting daily hospitalizations from a low of 180 to a high of 2,600 for July 10. So much for a #pandemic that was supposed to be long over.
5) In my home province of Quebec, a total of 623 people were hospitalized for and with #COVID on Thursday, down from around 800 nearly a month ago. As of June 10, Quebec recorded 31 #pandemic deaths, on a track that's slightly lower than for the month of May.
6) And as countries have dropped their guard, the World Health Organization's technical lead on #COVID, @mvankerkhove, has expressed concern about remaining vigilant about new strains of SARS-CoV-2. See her tweet below.
7) The purpose of my Twitter thread today is not to fear monger or to warn of a coming #COVID apocalypse, but simply to state the facts that this pandemic is still around despite our collective wishful thinking in dismissing COVID as a thing of the past. End of thread.
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