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© KYODOTokyo gov't to ask older people not to use travel campaign amid virus spike
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sakurasuki
Older people might not get infected by having less mobility but younger people have high mobility with this Go To campaign and can still infect older people else where. So infection still on going.
Monty
The Tokyo government will ask people aged 65 and older
People within this age range are the people with the most freetime.
Younger people have no time to travel. They must go to work.
Exept weekends and public holidays, depend upon a work.
I want to use the GoTo Travel, but too busy at work. No time.
But I am closer to the 65 years range, than to the 20s year range.
kurisupisu
“Now is the time to limit contact between people”
Unfortunately, most Japanese live on Honshu not in Siberia...
virusrex
So, the plan is to ask older people not to go and get the infection themselves but to wait until someone younger does and bring it to them?
If someone over 65 worries about getting the infection it would be refraining to travel from the beginning, "asking" them to do it is not going to make much of a difference. Either they did from before or they give not much importance to the pandemic and will not see a point in stopping now. Sometimes it seems that the government is looking for ways to make the campaign more complicated and likely to waste money on purpose.
didou
The dilemma for politicians is they do not want to stop the economy as in spring. As a result, they ask, urge citizens for small changes. that have a limited impact, and hope things will not get worse for the hospitals, but also at year end.
The problem is they do not want to ask citizens not to see their families a new time at oshogatsu, the most important Japanese vacation
Yubaru
Does that mean that Suga and Koike and damn near all the rest of the Diet should be staying home?
foreignbrotherhoodarmy
So asking japans largest demographic to stop moving. Ok.
Aly Rustom
I have to agree with sakurasuki and virusrex.
Aly Rustom
exactly. very limited
I don't think things will get worse for the hospitals per say as here you just can't walk into any hospital and get tested and treated for covid like in the west. there are special procedures one has to follow.
Frontline did a fantastic documentary on the virus. it pinpointed various countries' responses and compared and contrasted them.
PBS Frontline - S38E19 - The Virus: What Went Wrong? - YouTube
worth a watch as there are many parallels with japan's response
kyushubill
Will the dinosaurs in the LDP follow their own requests?
Patricia Yarrow
Farmboy, how about this one: Go Otoshi!
robert maes
Shamefull display of self interest by both Koike and Suga. She does not want to get criticised by hurting the economy or by taking no measures at all so she takes the cowardly way out. Knowing this will not do any good but sacrificing the people for her run as PM.
she is miscalculating. People want to see leadership and she is the governor of Tokyo , it is another mistake to hide behind Suga on this one.
Aly Rustom
I'm afraid this is the result of having blue bloods recycled in Kasumigaseki. The Gene Pool gets muddy and the leadership more and more lame. The response to this pandemic from the central gov has been non existent, especially at this time of crisis when we need real leadership. We saw this as well in the Fukushima response. The aversion to taking a firm stance is abismal. Isn't this why we have leaders in the first place? To steer us firmly during times of crisis?
Comment, he wrote
Younger people have no time to travel. They must go to work.
@monty, Well, that depends what age group you are specifically talking about. I work at a university here in Tokyo and the students are out meeting their “circle” and club members all the time, as well as sports clubs meeting for practices. One student even showed me their circle “event photo last week, which was a picture of roughly 15 students all huddled together giving peace signs and none wearing a mask.
The young (according to the numbers given for infections) tend to be in the highest category. They don’t only pose a risk to themselves but also to other age groups they interact with. I don’t feel comfortable as it is them being allowed to socialize the way they are at the moment. The travel campaign will still cause more harm than good in the long run.
AG
Tokyo gov't to ask older people not to use travel campaign amid virus spike
A polite way of saying:
Naaa taxpayers, citizens and foreign residents, we are not going to stop this non sense campaign.
carpslidy
The majority of people want to get on with life
The government has to do something but not too much as most don't want to stay home.
So this is the result a request for the elderly to stay home while the rest carry on.
Good decision
Cricky
Cannot think of another country that’s response to a pandemic is to promote travel and crowding in restaurants. it baffles the mind.
dbsaiya
Yes, no Go to for the elderly. Let the young Come to and bring you the virus. We make home deliveries!
wanderlust
The Tokyo government will ask people aged 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions to refrain from making trips to or from the capital using the government's domestic travel subsidy campaign
But they are ALLOWED to travel independently!
drlucifer
Thank God, I can now go about my daily endeavors knowing fully well our dear and caring leaders will cooperate and will at all cost prevent the spread of this stubborn virus even though they have not said how and what they will do, I trust that they will arrest the spread of the virus by doing everything against the book like not increasing testing and maintaining the GOTOs, Yes, it might look odd, it is called the "Japan Model " It is tried and tested in the past and was a resounding success.
roninroshi
Just shut the entire thing down until it’s all clear for everyone!
Luddite
This is nonsense. Asking older and vulnerable people to stay at home yet younger people can visit and bring the virus with them. This ignorant policy does not protect the vulnerable and nor does it mitigate the spread of the virus. Sheer stupidity.
i@n
So they request those who are most likely to have severe conditions or die if they get covid to refrain from travelling.
Makes sense.
Of course cancelling the campaign altogethet makes the most sense from infection control perspective, but not from economy perspective
Speed
The smallest demographic responsible for spreading the disease is being asked not to travel. Get rid of this governor.
natsu823
What a joke. Is she for real?
Not only old people get serious corona, many people under 65 get sick and die too.
Read and watch world news in other countries.
Japan is always hiding what is really going on with corona. Japanese people need to be aware.
Koike is a puppet.
Do the hustle
Yet, the demographic with the highest amount of infections are people in their 20’s. So, they make the oldies stay home so the youngies can visit them and bring the virus along with them. I really don’t understand the logic of Japanese politicians.
Yubaru
I am tired of the kid glove approach to so many things here, regarding COVID but it sure the hell is better here than where I originally come from, so...gaman, gaman, gaman, beer, beer, beer, gaman, gaman, gaman, some more! (Not necessarily in that order!)
drlucifer
Yesterday alone, this Virus killed 41 people and all they could come up with is More Of Doing Nothing.
drlucifer
Sense of Urgency, Give me a damn break. even my 15 year old kid knew that cases will rise in the winter just judging from what happened in the southern hemisphere yet these clowns are thinking of drawing up a plan now.
Central government has been calling for municipalities to secure hospital beds for Covid-19 patients, what happened to the thousands of beds Abe pledged ? Osaka just completed a temporary 30 bed hospital for serious corona virus cases equipped with Respirators and Ecmo and the facility cannot open due to lack of nurses, even the increase of salary to 500 thousand yen a month has not enticed nurses to apply. While our dear minister is thinking of working on a plan and holding meetings after meetings while the virus rages on. Where are the medical workers going to come from ? Is he planning for an emergency import of nurses from philippine, Indonesia and Vietnam ? The so called leaders are even more dangerous than this virus.
Gaijinjland
Go To Travel Campaign. It’s genius for its idiocy. What did the government think would happen? They want to curb the spread of the virus and at the same time encourage and, even worse, subsidize people to travel. Can’t wrap my head around that.
Gaijinjland
Just still glad I’m not in the US, where in some states you can get fined or even arrested for refusing to wear a mask. Orwell’s 1984 dystopian future has come to fruition.
HenryK
Japan should seriously think about building COVID faculties NOW instead of waiting for a crisis to happen.
Are they going to be late deciding and doing things, again. haha
Coronavirus: The hospital built in a matter of days
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51280586
Chabbawanga
Perfect get out of jail card for Jgov. If anyone in this vulnerable category dies, it's their own fault.
shogun36
Is that all?
Any more stipulations, amendments or rule changes there guys?
Every week there's some kind of take back or flip flop.
Here's an idea. Make DEFINITIVE decisions and actually enforce them.
Enough of this maybe, probably or urging crap already.
JCR
Here in the Netherlands the restrictions are quite severe, and since yesterday a law was out in place to wear masks indoors in public places, resulting in a 95 euro fine if you don’t. I was surprised last week when I came back after 5 years in Japan, to see more people wearing masks here than in Japan. Then again, cases have been going down lately, even with winter starting. Since today also everyone can get tested, regardless if you have symptoms or not, and it’s free.
fxgai
It's ridiculous, isn't it. They are talking about whether or not boomers ought be using a daft travel subsidy program, when the actual issue is how to alleviate the latest 3rd wave of infections far more generally.
This Go To program is stupid for two reasons. One because it's a dumb subsidy program. Two because it's a distraction from far more serious matters.
carp_boya
From what I’ve been hearing, it’s mostly older people who are using this campaign. They’re the ones with free time and money to travel. And I’ve also found that older people are less concerned about the virus than people in their 30s and 40s.
HBJ
You have to feel for the government here because I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the Go To Travel campaign adding to the spread of the virus, or putting the elderly more at risk.
End sarcasm.
Sven Asai
That means the GoTo campaigns don’t make great sense from now. Who has the time and money to travel and is keen on coupons for traditional or hometown products? You? Me? Any other younger people , at company work, at universities or in low-paid and part time jobs? No, not a single yen remains at the end of month in most cases. The older people have, the ones that are now asked to refrain from using GoTo xyz.
Mr Kipling
A wise move that makes perfect sense. The most vulnerable taking the utmost care of their own health. If they want to take the risk of getting infected and dying.... their choice.
Pukey2
Stupidity from the government yet again. How about asking everyone to "refrain" from using this campaign. Or are the young incapable of spreading the virus?
Seesaw7
so no travelfor Koike herself.. Shes 68 .