5 ms·

First off let me make it clear (1) I've mostly stayed entirely isolate since March. (2) I plan to stay isolated. So don't shoot the messenger please. Anyway, I

First off let me make it clear (1) I've mostly stayed entirely isolate since March. (2) I plan to stay isolated. So don't shoot the messenger please. Anyway, I live in Tokyo. Tokyo Metro area has basically all of California (SF, SD, etc..) squeezed into an area the size of Los Angeles. 34 million people. Tokyo has been mostly unlocked since June. Theaters and other venues are open (every other seat), clubs are open (WTFBBQ!), restaurants are open and many are full, everyone has masks off while eating and drinking though outside it's 99% masked. Number shot up in the last 2 days, we'll see where it goes, but though September and October they stayed flat. About 100 to 200 a day (vs California, same population, 10k day or 100x) Here are some videos from 3 different weekends in October Tokyo Metro Area https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0UP9v5zOh8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0UP9v5zOh8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQQl6z45QxY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQQl6z45QxY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13WRmg1NX8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13WRmg1NX8g No idea why the number are 100x less than California similar population. Especially given Tokyo is far more densely populated than California and trains are still packed during rush hour. Schools are open though they swap half the students each day. Lots of people have ideas, none of them proven. * Japanese don't wear shoes indoors so don't track it into their houses :P * Japanese are better at wearing masks? (ok, but walking by restaurants full of unmasked people doesn't seem to fit) * Japan isn't testing as much. I think that's not true enough to get a 100x difference but even if it was hospitalizations and deaths would be up? They are not AFAIK * Japan has a different version of the virus? Ok, so when the real one arrives were screwed. * Japanese are healthier? (like obesity is 3.6% here vs 30% in USA) * Japanese are not vitamin D deficient? They have put lots of measures in though I assume that similar elsewhere. Every cashier is surrounded by various forms of transparent partitions. Fast food joints sometimes have partitions between every 2 seats. That said a cafe I used to hang out at as one large 20 person table and 8 or so bar seats near a window. I've walked by since it's near the grocery store I go to and it's full, people eating with masks off, no partitions. I have plenty of pictures of full restaurants as I walk by. Anyway, would certainly love to know why the numbers are so low relative to the USA and Europe. Maybe it's just luck? Seems unlikely

triangleman 6y ago
Maybe it's all the fish. I guess I'm off to take my vitamin D, thanks for the reminder.
m0llusk 6y ago
The Japanese effort to contain the virus correctly guessed that since the virus spreads quickly the best approach is to identify and contain clusters. This has made it possible to target their testing and tracking in a way that is highly effective. The not wearing shoes inside really needs to be called out as bunk on two levels. First of all, coronavirus is extremely weak and does not live at all outside of droplets. This means that fomites, that is the spread of infection through residues on surfaces is negligible. You need droplets or aerosol for an infection. Second, as a housecleaner I have found that the no shoes indoors rules leads to less floor cleaning and dirtier floors since the reality is still that gravity takes every crumb and speck down and walking around spreads all that. It is unpopular to say, but in my experience shoes allowed in the house results in cleaner floors because people understand that crud is always accumulating there rather than being in denial.
- greggman3 6y ago
  that doesn't match my experience at all. I've been in few houses/apartments in Japan with disgusting floors. I've been in plenty in the USA. You can see cleaning floors in Japan is part of the culture as it feature heavily in anime about real like since everyone shares in it as a well known cultural activity. Carpet is also unusual in Japan. Tatami are not uncommon but they are easy to clean where as carpet is not.
  - m0llusk 6y ago
    My remark was not about floors in Japan. In Japan there are tatami mats and a cultural habit of putting away items not in use which is very different from the US where beds are often left out and unmade. In the US carpet is not only common but is often required for noise reduction. In this environment not wearing shoes is not enough to keep floors clean and it is common for people who do not wear shoes in the house to have filthy floors that take extra effort to clean. I have cleaned around ten thousand homes during my career as a cleaner. How many homes have you attended?

triangleman 6y ago

Maybe it's all the fish. I guess I'm off to take my vitamin D, thanks for the reminder.

m0llusk 6y ago

The Japanese effort to contain the virus correctly guessed that since the virus spreads quickly the best approach is to identify and contain clusters. This has made it possible to target their testing and tracking in a way that is highly effective. The not wearing shoes inside really needs to be called out as bunk on two levels. First of all, coronavirus is extremely weak and does not live at all outside of droplets. This means that fomites, that is the spread of infection through residues on surfaces is negligible. You need droplets or aerosol for an infection. Second, as a housecleaner I have found that the no shoes indoors rules leads to less floor cleaning and dirtier floors since the reality is still that gravity takes every crumb and speck down and walking around spreads all that. It is unpopular to say, but in my experience shoes allowed in the house results in cleaner floors because people understand that crud is always accumulating there rather than being in denial.

greggman3 6y ago
that doesn't match my experience at all. I've been in few houses/apartments in Japan with disgusting floors. I've been in plenty in the USA. You can see cleaning floors in Japan is part of the culture as it feature heavily in anime about real like since everyone shares in it as a well known cultural activity. Carpet is also unusual in Japan. Tatami are not uncommon but they are easy to clean where as carpet is not.
- m0llusk 6y ago
  My remark was not about floors in Japan. In Japan there are tatami mats and a cultural habit of putting away items not in use which is very different from the US where beds are often left out and unmade. In the US carpet is not only common but is often required for noise reduction. In this environment not wearing shoes is not enough to keep floors clean and it is common for people who do not wear shoes in the house to have filthy floors that take extra effort to clean. I have cleaned around ten thousand homes during my career as a cleaner. How many homes have you attended?