national

Live music venues emerge as new coronavirus transmission sites

40 Comments
By Chang-Ran Kim and Naomi Tajitsu

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Thomson Reuters 2020.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

40 Comments
Login to comment

@Educator

my wife’s a nurse and she is being told to make one mask last a week. Basically it’s just for show, as are the numbers.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

You do realize that restaurants/pachinko/tourist sites are similar to clubs and still operating? Also, teachers are still packed into their small staff rooms (mine has over 50 people).

ashley-

Idiots!!! I am a mother of a 10 year old who is out of school now because of Abe due to this virus. Yet, these clubs are able to operate legally and that aides in spreading the virus. Let me shake my head.  Immoral, on the part of the club owner and the people who are attending these events, and everyone of them should be given a hefty fine and even given prison time if the virus is caught at a venue and for the person who caught the virus, full-stop.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Abe’s school ban was after these concerts, can’t really blame him for that one...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

With one pcr test costing the government 19,500yen there is no incentive to carry out many test.

Looking at the cost in other countries might explain why there is reluctance to test here.

PCR testing is an emergency and shouldn't be an opportunity for those in the testing chain to rake in massive profit.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Osaka prefectural government is asking anyone who had been to concerts on seven dates in mid- to late February at the four venues to get tested for the coronavirus, whether or not they have symptoms.

Wow, the local government is trying to do the right thing. Abe should learn from this.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You can close all the stores if you want, but the crowded train is THE PROBLEM. If everyone is willing to stand next to someone breathing air to their faces, then no amount of closed shops will curb the spread of the disease.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The Osaka prefectural government is asking anyone who had been to concerts on seven dates in mid- to late February at the four venues to get tested for the coronavirus, whether or not they have symptoms.

Are they starting to try to stop spread ?

Good. Hope that will be carried out.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Jim Harper

Have you been to a town or city recently? They're full of kids and teenagers. Anyone who thinks they would spend all day at home just because the prime minister says so is a gullible fool. Half of the kids have had to go back to school because their parents work, and the other half are outside having fun with their friends.

Once again, Abe's plan is an unmitigated disaster.

The goal was to prevent the kids to stay in airless suffocating small classrooms, shoulder to shoulder with each other.

There is no harm that kids are outside, playing under fresh air or hanging around in the city without passing hours under the same roof.

This was the best action of Japan so far to prevent the accelaration of the spread.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

From Wesley:

It's better to have a child safely at home rather than exposing him/her to the deadly Wuhan virus.

Have you been to a town or city recently? They're full of kids and teenagers. Anyone who thinks they would spend all day at home just because the prime minister says so is a gullible fool. Half of the kids have had to go back to school because their parents work, and the other half are outside having fun with their friends.

Once again, Abe's plan is an unmitigated disaster.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Anyone suggesting that Japan doesn't have many cases needs a reality check.

The first individual diagnosed with the disease in my area wasn't actually tested until his NINTH visit to a hospital or clinic. In other words, people are going to doctors, clinics and hospitals complaining of coronavirus-like symptoms and simply not being tested unless they become remarkably persistent. All those people, some of whom are infected, then go home and infect other people in their area. Those people then go to doctors and are not tested.

Japan's official numbers are low because there is a great reluctance to actually test people. Even those who are tested positive are given ridiculous advice like 'stay at home for a while'. Others ignore the advice and then go nightclub-hopping in a deliberate attempt to spread the disease.

You want to know how many people have coronavirus in Japan, start testing people who come in with symptoms. Unfortunately such methods would reveal the true extent of the disease and the total failure of the Japanese government's response (something they would rather watch people die that admit to). Given the fact that Japan is making no effort to seriously monitor the infection, it's logical to assume that Japan is absolutely swimming with coronavirus cases.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Idiots!!! I am a mother of a 10 year old who is out of school now because of Abe due to this virus. Yet, these clubs are able to operate legally and that aides in spreading the virus. Let me shake my head.  Immoral, on the part of the club owner and the people who are attending these events, and everyone of them should be given a hefty fine and even given prison time if the virus is caught at a venue and for the person who caught the virus, full-stop

Maybe Mr Abe is more concerned about innocent children rather than adults who should have known better. It's better to have a child safely at home rather than exposing him/her to the deadly Wuhan virus.

And I agree with you. These club owners and the people attending them should be punished.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The dangerous part of this virus is that the transmission is fast and an asymptomatic person can infect others around him/her without knowing it. As far as protection goes, people seem to forget to protect the eyes too. Stay safe and the best of luck to everyone.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"The numbers speak for themselves."

Number of Cases

China 80,995

Italy 10,149

Iran 8,042

South Korea 7,755

France 1,784

Spain 1695

Germany 1565

US 971

Japan 585

Indeed. The numbers do speak for themselves and they Japan is doing a good job.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

Finally some talking head on NHK this am made a comment (heresy!) that if you are healthy there is NO REASON for you to need to wear a mask! They went on to say that masks should be worn by people who have colds or are have weak immune systems!

OMG...from NHK of all places!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Tourists celebrate beside a bottle of disinfectant in a bar in Tokyo on Tuesday night.

What the hell are "tourists" celebrating?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

COVID-19 testing by country

Japan: 76 COVID-19 tests per 1 million people (March 10)

UK: 347 per million (March 8)

Italy: 826 per million (March 8)

S. Korea: 3,690 per million (March 8)

The numbers speak for themselves.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Here in Sapporo, I was told you had to first go to the doctor, and if he feels you should be tested, you need to then go to your local ward office to fill out some paperwork and then go to a select hospital.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Where are the mask that should have been produced and distributed

Why? Are you sick? If you're not... then you don't need to buy a mask.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

great source of data for Japan:

https://covid19japan.com/

You are correct and the source date for the website is:

Primary Data Sources

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/houdou_list_202002.html

http://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/contents/corona-kokunai.html

Both are government sites. So much for the "Shush now. If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist". attitude that all too common. The Japanese government has been transparent.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Where are the mask that should have been produced and distributed

Why? Are you sick? If you're... then you don't need to buy a mask.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan has not been testing as much as some other countries.

because Japan does not have as many suspected cases as other do. You do not get tested unless you meet the guidelines for testing. Which are:

Government guidelines say people should get tested if they have cold-like symptoms, a fever of 37.5 Celsius or extreme tiredness or breathing problems for four days or more or have come close contact with a known positive.

In fact Japan's guidelines are more flexible than other countries.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

Doing business with China is part of global trade and is necessary but people need to think a little more carefully about the risks of over relying on one location (mostly due to greed).

Not wanting to go out of business is a far cry from greed. The reality of selling commodities like masks is that price is the dominant factor. It's really up to the consumers as to whether they want to pay a higher price for a safer supply chain. Given how little money many consumers have, that is unlikely to happen. This is simply one of the risks of living in a globalized world.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Educator60

In recent years, about 70% of masks sold in Japan have been manufactured in China. Those are currently not coming in. Even in the ones produced in Japan, much of the materials (non-woven fabric, wire, elastic) have come from China. 

Very true but I think the number is higher from what I have heard (no link right now sorry). Doing business with China is part of global trade and is necessary but people need to think a little more carefully about the risks of over relying on one location (mostly due to greed).

I would like to think that minds will change after this but I do not know. I know one very huge manufacturer in the U.S. who is already in the process of re-locating a large percentage (not all) of their manufacturing from China back to the U.S.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

great source of data for Japan:

https://covid19japan.com/

I see we finally got over 1000 tests in a single day! (thanks again to whoever introduced this site on JT).

for worldwide data:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Where are the mask that should have been produced and distributed as stores throughout the entire country of Japan are out of stock.

Logged in to say what Educator60 just posted. At the request of the government, mask manufacturers are prioritising health care facilities.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Hygiene in many bars (washing glasses, cutlery) is often below standard. Add that to lowering the immune system by the act of drinking, it's not the smartest place to be hanging out if you are worried about getting sick.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

At present there appear to be numerous strains (90) of the virus which are currently classified as belonging to two clades. The type II clade tends to be more prevalent due to it's higher virulence and higher rate of translation (which means copies are made faster). Different strains with different transmission characteristics are operating in different areas, so differences in penetrance into populations will be exist.

(With the exception of a really glaring typo in the first sentence of the Introduction, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.25.20027953v1.full.pdf has decent info related to the above)

57 new reported cases in Japan yesterday

150 new cases reported in Seoul, Seoul yesterday.

173 new cases reported in New York yesterday.

177 new cases reported in France yesterday.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Japan is still officially at under 5 reported cases of COVID-19 per 1 million population. That said, Japan has not been testing as much as some other countries. "Although the Japanese government says it has the capacity to carry out 3,800 tests a day, only 8,111 tests had been conducted as of March 4, according to the country's Health Ministry." That is 66 tests per 1 million people. In contrast, the UK is testing at a rate of 347 per 1 million people, Italy at a rate of 826 per million, and S. Korea at a rate of 3,690 per 1 million.

Motoi Suzuki, head of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, states that the real number of COVID-19 infections in Japan is likely several times higher than government reports are indicating. Hardly surprising, given the very low numbers of people tested.

17 ( +17 / -0 )

Although I do wonder how many do not get reported.

Shush now. If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

57 new reported cases in Japan yesterday

150 new cases reported in Seoul, Seoul yesterday.

173 new cases reported in New York yesterday.

177 new cases reported in France yesterday.

Although I do wonder how many do not get reported.

I also wonder based on the above numbers who is doing a better job?

3 ( +8 / -5 )

57 new reported cases in Japan yesterday. Although I do wonder how many do not get reported.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

While are their daily reports of numbers infected for most countries very often it seems difficult to find ud-to-date reports of numbers here in Japan.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Enjoy! I'll stay home for the next few weeks. I don't want to be the cause of spreading the virus to friends and family.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Pachinco parlors are also top hot-spot transmission sites whose major customers are elderly people.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Where are the mask that should have been produced and distributed as stores throughout the entire country of Japan are out of stock. Minimal 1 or 2 can still be found, but limited to 12 people per store at best. Why? Does it take that long to produce, distribute to stores? Shelves remain empty at Happy Drugs, Yokoudo, Life, Universe, Aeon, Max Value etc...

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites