It’s mostly foreigners I see walking around without masks now, but I agree it’s still ramping up. I honestly don’t see the US getting close to this level of prevention, so if it fails here it’s going to be devastating there.
Going from airport (ICN) to airport (HND) amid this really drove it home.
But yes, I am definitely noticing some measures happening here. Mask shortages, a few companies shifting to remote work, etc.
Beyond that, if it REALLY hits here, you're going to have entire businesses shut down temporarily. I saw a CDC estimate that if it goes pandemic, we should expect 40% - 70% of the population to contract it. Imagine your place of employment, but with half of its employees out sick.
I can survive 2 weeks without work, but I simply can't pay a bill like that no matter what I do.
We are talking about quarantines. In other words, forced. Containing the virus as much as possible is well within the sphere of national security concerns. I don't know what the answer is, but if the CDC, HHS, and the government writ large are going to be serious about containing it, they are going to have to come up with some sort of solution that most definitely does not discourage people from self-reporting illness, and also doesn't bankrupt the populace.
Imagine you have no insurance, had contact with a coronavirus case, and are now feeling ill. What do you do?
If you do the right thing, you're looking at a 100% chance of having your financial life permanently destroyed.
If you just stay home and ride it out, it looks like you've got an 80% or so (correct me if I'm wrong?) chance of being perfectly fine in a week or two.
Consider Korea. Two weeks ago, 28 cases, same as they had has for weeks. The current outbreak in confirmed cases only began growing one week ago, on Feb 19th.
The country is now entering lockdown, and some countries are banning flights from Korea.
If your flight leaves, say, tomorrow, you risk the same happening by the time you leave.
If it leaves further in the future, you have the good fortune of being able to wait and observe. If it gets worse you maybe able to get refunds on flights/hotels. Either directly or via cc. (As flights may be cancelled)
If it gets better, you can keep it. But if you leave now you’re taking a gamble you won’t have a lockdown before the end of it. This is moving fast, and japan is reporting new cases daily.
Note: the risk profile of being in a place is different from living in a place. If you live in a place you can just stay home. If you travel you have all manner of dependencies, and none of your usual supplies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/opinion/coronavirus-japan...
Japan has very poor rankings on press freedom, reporters are routinely fired for questioning the government, and Abe has a long history of being a dishonest, self-serving, authoritarian.
https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-japan-press-freedom...
They should be responding like Korea has been, but instead are just ignoring the situation.
Be prepared for travel disruptions. My connecting flight was canceled when my destination country decided no more flights from not only China, but a few surrounding countries.
Had to buy alternative tickets last minute to take a detour and get where I wanted to go.
In my city, not on your itinerary, all elementary and junior high schools are being requested to close. All community volunteer oriented events and classes are being cancelled for whole month of March. All government employees are being asked to wear mask. All events in government buildings being asked to close.
Things are moving rapidly since government came back from long weekend.
I have noticed a high number of Chinese tourists in the Niseko region on vacation though and overheard some families from Hong Kong talking about vacationing outside of China to avoid the virus. Not sure this is something to be that worried about - I'll leave it up to you.
Tokyo is where it’s the worst, right now
On the other hand if you are young and fit and capable of following the standard precautions I don’t think you have too much to worry about.
I say this as I’m about to depart from Thailand for Taiwan
Or indirectly to other fit people who eventually down the line infects a high-risk person.
So I think it is quite selfish to expose yourself unnecessarily. I don't think we should stop everything we do, life still goes on, but just be considerate of others.
Why are you going to japan/what do you want to do there? If it's not essential for you to go, then it's probably an unnecessary risk. With how quickly the disease is spreading, 2 weeks is a long time for things to get worse, and there's always the risk of you becoming a vector for disease so it's more than just your own health to worry about in terms of safety.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/coronavirus-japan
The difference is that maybe South Korea is in "panic mode" and Japan is yet to get there. They are less than half of Japan population and had 10 times more new cases in the last 24 hours.
When I traveled through Japan their hygiene culture came across as theatre more than anything. It's more of a social performance than a practical reality. I think 'very tidy' better describes Japan (if you ignore the beaches).
However, things are starting to change? At least my lab cancelled a conference we planned to organize (call for paper deadline next month, and conference itself in August).
There's a bit of "anxious hesitation" in the air, but apparently not enough (yet?) to warrant more direct prevention...
How so? Like covering their mouth but not nose, or something?
(I'm just wondering if it's something like that that should be obvious, or if there's something more subtle I'm unaware of)
Also, as an fyi, if you are using some of the common paper masks, make sure the strings are on the outside.
Coming back to Japan; however, people seem kind of unconcerned in comparison. The airport was business as usual and no visible increase in mask usage.
I went to a GP just this morning for a shoulder injury and noticed some of the staff weren't wearing any face protection, and a few wearing them incorrectly. It was a bit unnerving, to be honest.
I have a feeling Tokyo is about to have a huge outbreak any day now. I'm not one to fear-monger, but knowing how casual people can be when out and about (unchecked coughing/sneezing, subpar handwashing in public toilets), it almost seems inevitable especially given how crowded this city is. As a resident, I'd like us to step up our precaution game before we hit infection levels that we are seeing with our neighbors -- but I'm afraid it might already be too late.