Japan is reported to have the second-largest outbreak of the coronavirus, now known as Covid-19, from Wuhan, China. The Japanese health ministry enforced harsher, and stricter guidelines for the people experiencing even slight symptoms such as feeling sluggish or shortness of breath. They are advising that employees work from home and refrain from using any public transit. Japan has stepped up its efforts in order to prevent more than 606 cases previously recorded. Recently, the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship was quarantined in Tokyo Bay, yielding 88 new cases and a loss of an elderly woman. Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, had major concerns for the health status of their nation, so he and the health minister arranged meetings with one another to warn citizens that Japan was still in stages of infection and that all safety precautions should be taken seriously. Japanese airlines have also reduced the number of flights arriving from mainland China, as did other nations. There have been restrictions on the predicted highly populated events of the year due to the spread of the virus. For example, the long-awaited Tokyo marathon is now limited to only elite athletes' attendance, as well as Emperor Naruhito's birthday celebration has been canceled.
1. Do you believe there are other factors contributing to the spread of the virus, specifically in Japan? If so, why?
2. What else can the health ministry announce or provide that can further protect the citizens and their health?
3. Do you think the guidelines established are logical and will have a long term effect on the people?
i think that all the guidelines r p good and that they will def work out for the japanese people. Theyĺl probably work for a while if japan can meet everyones needs while having these restrictions in place, if not the people could disregard the rules and the outbreak would become worse
ReplyDeleteThere are always other factors contributing to the spread of the virus because the spread is inevitable, but Japan has done a good job of trying to prevent or lessen the spread, by doing things like cancelling big events so that there are less dense groups of people who share air and can easily infect one another. The health ministry can continue to encourage others to stay home if they are sick, and should try and stop most outside flights and cruises from coming into the ports, not just from China but from other largely infected countries, to try and isolate themselves from the virus as much as possible. I think that the guidelines Japan has established so far are logical and will help to prevent the virus from spreading further. In the meantime, the health ministry should try and encourage and fund doctors to maybe find a cure or solution to the problem, instead of just trying to prevent it from spreading.
ReplyDeleteI think that Japan has done a good job of trying to keep their citizens safe. Though the virus will still spread, less people will get infected and it will hopefully be better contained.
ReplyDeleteI do think that at this point this is the most logical thing they can do based on the amount of cases recorded from not so scary symptoms. I think that just making sure everyone is fine and if not get them to medical attention immediately, and to find out that they have the disease as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteI think that not all of the guidelines were very logical or effective. I don't think that everyone on the cruise ship should have been quarantined on the ship because that just allowed the virus to spread to other passengers that didn't originally have it. It would have probably made more sense if they quarantined them in a facility besides the cruise ship so that those who were cleared could go home earlier, and those who were sick could get better medical attention. According to an article by the Washington Post, there were no "red zones" on the ship, so people didn't know which places were or were not safe to visit. This let the virus spread more and affect more people. The Washington Post article also states that most of new cases of the coronavirus have been traced to local transmission. Therefore, although cutting off flights to and from China could help, the main worry right now should be figuring out how to stop the virus from spreading locally. Apparently, many are upset at how the government is handling this as there is five percent more dissatisfaction with the government and how it's handling the virus' outbreak. However, now test kits are going to be supplied to companies and expand their testing to over 3,000 tests each day. And these tests are no longer limited to people showing links to China or other infected patients. They are going to be available to anyone who may be showing symptoms of the coronavirus. Although the government may not have had the best policy with the cruise ship, they are starting to create and enforce better policies that will hopefully be effective against this virus.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japans-coronavirus-response-on-cruise-ship-completely-inadequate-says-health-expert/2020/02/19/881e7218-5150-11ea-80ce-37a8d4266c09_story.html
I think that since the virus is notorious for being so contagious, they are within their rights to implement these guidelines and I feel that they are taking necessary actions. However, I don't think that they are doing enough. I think some things that the Health ministry can be able to do to at least slow down the outbreak is to enforce citizens to wear masks and construct emergency camps and be willing to think on their feed. With recent events, like China silencing up standers and those setting the alarm for the Corona virus, action isn't taken fast enough. Several nations along with the Health ministry can reflect on this as well as provide support for the research of a vaccine or cure.
ReplyDeleteI believe that since the virus is starting to become worldwide and being extremely contagious, they are trying to do their part from keeping the virus from continuing to spread. They are trying to make sure that they try to keep it contained. But I do believe that they could be doing more. Such as having more mask accessible for the people who need it. This may not stop it, but it will stop the spread of the virus.
ReplyDeleteThis virus is beginning to become a threat worldwide. Even though putting guidelines is the right thing, it still won't be enough since its very contagious. i think by wearing masks and staying indoors is something the Health ministry should take in consideration.
ReplyDeleteI think travel is one of the most well known ways of spreading a sickness or germ however, through other transports such as food and other sources can spread the disease throughout the country. I feel that the health ministry could send medicine or care packages to each house or city to help monitor the sicknesses. I think the guidelines are reasonable to the health of the community.
ReplyDeleteInfections like the Corona Virus are very easily spread in areas where there is lots of people in concentrated areas, making things like public transit breeding grounds for spreading of infections. Especially in countries like Japan where public transit is widely used, this can make an outbreak of a disease especially bad. In my opinion, these restrictions are logical and should stay in place at least until doctors and scientists can develop some kind of vaccine or treatment for the Corona Virus. In addition, I think that the Japanese Ministry of Health should send the specialized masks and ensure that everyone has the means of protecting themselves against this infection.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Japan has done a very smart job of regulating the spread of coronavirus. Especially by focusing on aspects such as traveling, where most of the spread has occurred, the government is trying to eliminate the virus at the source. Furthermore, I don’t think citizens will be impacted long term by these regulations as most of them will be in place only until a vaccine or cure has been developed for this disease. It’s better to be safe than sorry and the government has done a good job of implementing this.
-Anusha
I think one of the most important things the government can do right now is try to keep people calm an informed. There has been widespread panic many places in the world about coronavirus and it only makes preventing and treating it more difficult with people so confused. One of the best things that the Japanese government can do right now is give all the information they can so people can be informed about the crisis and better protect themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it's important for the government to give as much information as possible about the virus, and take measures, even if drastic, to keep people healthy. This is important because if measures aren't taken to keep people healthy, then it could become a global issue that could affect and possibly kill many people.
ReplyDeleteJapan’s strict new regulations for the CoronaVirus are very logical, and they will prevent many more Japanese people from being infected; it is better to be safe than sorry. It is not Japan’s fault for being more susceptible to CoronaVirus; there are two main factors that would contribute to the spread of the virus. That is how geographically close China, the original source of the CoronaVirus, is to Japan, so there would be a lot of travel in between the two countries, and thus the spreading of the virus. Additionally, China did not release to the international community that the CoronaVirus even existed until a month later the outbreak started. This means that there was an entire month of time for thousands and thousands of travelers to go back and forth from China to Japan, thus leaving Japan very vulnerable.
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