It was once seen as something of a success story - a region that worked to contain, trace and isolate the virus - leading to a huge drop in numbers. But Hokkaido is in the spotlight again as it struggles to deal with a second wave of infections...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52305055
"The major lesson to take from Hokkaido is that even if you are successful in the containment the first time around, it's difficult to isolate and maintain the containment for a long period. Unless you expand the testing capacity, it's difficult to identify community transmission and hospital transmission."
The third lesson is that this "new reality" is going to go on a lot longer than most people expect. Hokkaido has now had to re-impose the restrictions, though Japan's version of a Covid-19 "lockdown" is a rather softer than those imposed elsewhere. Most people are still going to work. Schools may be closed, but shops and even bars remain open.
Prof Shibuya thinks without tougher measures Japan has little hope of controlling this so called "second wave" of infections now taking place, not just in Hokkaido, but across the country.
"The key lesson" he says "is even if you are successful in containment locally but there is transmission going on in other parts of the country, as long as people are moving around, it's difficult to maintain a virus-free status".
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