Wage Slave wrote:Scipio wrote:Speak for yourself. Here in Tokyo, which is also part of Japan, I think that it's madness. The supermarkets are choc a bloc with people, with the oba and ojisans picking up every package of meat for inspection. The parks are full of kids playing and social distancing is a total joke. There will be a price to pay for this madness, unless you think that the Japanese have some unique genetic make-up, which immunizes them against Covid 19. I've been reading that the first wave of Covid 19 in Japan, in February, was similar to the original Wuhan strain, which was less virulent in its contagion rate and less dangerous to mortality. This recent strain of COVID 19 in Japan, since early March, is more like the strain being found in Europe, brought back to Japan by Japanese tourists who visited Europe. The USA strain of Covid 19, apart from California, is a pure European strain and the consequences are there to see.
I think that, in 4 weeks, we will see the consequences of this 'Mockdown'. You can say, on June 4th, 'I told you so', if I am wrong. I will not, out of respect to the large number of deaths that I think will inevitably come from this 'head in the sand' approach of Japanese society, do likewise, if I am right.
So I'll say it now, 'I told you so' , and hope that I will be proven wrong.
Still feeling confident? There hasn't been a new case around here (6.5 million people) for 4 weeks. Of the 45 cases in total, one person has died. Of course the big cities are far worse but compared to London, Madrid or New York not bad at all. Something has worked and it would be really useful to know exactly what.
There could be some coincidences at work, but I hypothesize the following factors are important reasons why Japan is doing quite well:
- Relatively low vitamin D deficiency levels. A commentary in the Lancet, one of the leading medical journals, states that though insufficient clinical research has yet to prove that there is a definite link between vitamin D deficiency and the risk of being infected by or the risk to die from Covid-19, it is quite likely that there is such a link. Fatty fish, which contains loads of vitamin D, is eaten a lot in Japan. Also, skies in Japan tend to be quite bright (even in winter), compared to countries in the northern part of Europe, and a daily dose of some 15 minutes sunlight on the skin has been proven to boast vitamin D levels. One has to wonder what authorities in some countries were thinking when they ordered everyone to stay inside.
- Low incidence of obesity in Japan.
- Custom to wear masks.