As Cases Mount, Japan Is Rapidly Becoming a Coronavirus Hotbed

[soryang]

As Cases Mount, Japan Is Rapidly Becoming a Coronavirus Hotbed
By Gearoid Reidy Bloomberg News
February 19, 2020, 5:03 AM EST

Japan is emerging as one of the riskiest places for the spread of the coronavirus, prompting criticism that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has misfired on its policies to block the outbreak.

The number of infections in Japan has more than doubled in the past week to 74, rivaling Singapore as the country outside mainland China with the most cases. The government is being faulted for being too slow to bar visitors from China and too lax in its quarantine of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where infections surged during two weeks docked in Yokohama.

While the hundreds of cases aboard the ship have grabbed the world’s attention, they are not counted among Japan’s total. What appears to be more troublesome is that Japan is starting to see a surge in cases in multiple areas across the country -- sometimes with little to link the outbreaks.

Much more:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-19/as-cases-mount-japan-is-rapidly-becoming-a-coronavirus-hotbed?utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_source=twitter

[Iliyah]

1. Prayers . . .

USA's government seems unconcerned.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. 74 cases.

What exactly is the population of Japan?

[soryang]

3. Good point

if one only considers those 74 cases the situation isn't much different from that in South Korea. The title of news report is too sensational. The handling of the virus outbreak on the ship and the handling of the domestic cases in Japan are two separate issues.

I don't think the measures on board the Diamond Princess are effective. This is why the US requires an additional 14 day quarantine under controlled conditions for US nationals that were repatriated.

The chief domestic concern in South Korea and Japan is the recent emergence of cases with no China travel history, no known China contact exposure, and inability to track down the source of the illness. Three instances in the case of South Korea and eleven in Japan.

Initially the shipboard cases were reported as "Japan cases." Japan complained and a separate category was made especially for the Diamond Princess.

"Adding to the worries is that passengers began leaving the quarantined vessel Wednesday amid concerns some might later test positive and take the virus to more parts of Japan."

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. If you wanted to set up a test case for infecting as many people as possible,

you'd do something like the Diamond Princess. If nothing else, food was going to be delivered to staterooms every single day, and I have read nothing about testing the crew members and confining those who tested positive for the virus.

People are freaking out in a way not warranted by this disease.

If every case of measles or influenza or whooping cough were reported the same way, no one would ever leave home.

[soryang]

4. South Korea now 51 cases

Just watched the news in Korea, the JTBC headline was an additional 20 cases in the last day, including a "cluster" of cases in Taegu and surrounding area (Kyeongsangbukdo).