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Japan to test anti-virus measures for big events at near-full stadium

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Awesome. Go Japan. Slowing but surely moving forward. Nice to see. A great example to the world in so many ways.

-12 ( +12 / -24 )

So the prime minister and the mayor can stand there, hold hands, and click their heels together three times repeating ... the virus is gone, the virus is gone, the virus is gone.

3 ( +11 / -8 )

So are they going to trace and test all of the contacts of these 90000 people afterwards? If not, how will they know how many new infections are created by this reckless experiment?

11 ( +17 / -6 )

They want to use the center of Yokahama as a lab for human guinea pigs.

12 ( +15 / -3 )

This is BEYOND crazy. BEYOND crazy.

4 ( +13 / -9 )

What a waste of money and time...

2 ( +11 / -9 )

I think I'm going to sit this game out. Let me know how it goes.

8 ( +13 / -5 )

happyhere - I agree. Without follow up tracing this experiment is useless; but then it's expected since Nishimura who doesn't have a medical background is in charge of this...

5 ( +11 / -6 )

How measures for the trains that are normally jammed packed carrying the fans to the venue, often a lot more tightly than at any stadium? Nahhh...

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Go To Travel, reopen of schools, hiding the number of tests...

Citizens don't say a thing about anything!

What a controlled society.

Trying a new strategy?

Don't you make it an excuse to have the Olympics next year!

12 ( +17 / -5 )

Regular games will be played during the three days, with the stadium filled to up to 80 percent capacity on the first day and possibly 100 percent on the final day.

Even I think Japan is doing a good job according the Virus, this is Number 1 BS idea!

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

I see they went to the Trump University seminar on Pandemic Management.

1 ( +9 / -8 )

Do not forget that Dentsu constantly has staff members attached to the PM

office as advisors. And that Dentsu is the exclusive marketing agency to the Olympics LOC , J league and the main agency to the baseball league and most teams.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Let's test our strategy by packing thousands of people into a stadium and count how many will die".

How come nobody thought of that before!

You mean like testing a vaccine on human against diseases? How are you supposed to make progress against covid and other diseases ?

0 ( +7 / -7 )

much better than lockdown.

-1 ( +8 / -9 )

I have regularly attended j league and baseball gamers since the summer.

People almost always follow mask etiquette, if you don't staff tell you off.

Post game you register your seat number of the teams database in case the need to trace you.

Sanitizer is everywhere and your temperature is checked on the way in

People complained when it was 5000, then 50% yet hasn't resulted in outbreaks

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

Perhaps you could fill an open-roof stadium to 80% capacity, with everyone wearing masks and being really careful. But this is cool October climate - in the hottest days of the year the olympics will have people pulling thier masks off to to drink water, avoid heat stroke, to breath that lovely humid Tokyo 'air' And even then with 20,000+ people crowded together in larger groups outside the stadium, getting food, on public transport ... it's there where Covid can be spread easily. They are so desperate to hold the damn olympics though, it's beyond belief, but then 2020 has proved insanity has no limit.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

What an utter waste of precious time reading this article, no mention how the test will be corroborated. Was expecting everyone who attended the games would do pcr testing thereafter spanning a number of days to check the number of infected cases.

It is well known that temperature is not a perfect indicator for this virus.

One can be positive and still have normal body temperature.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

They might want to pick another stadium. Yokohama's in 4th place 15 games back. They'll have a hell of a time trying to pack this stadium.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

BluemoonToday  09:07 am JST

"So the prime minister and the mayor can stand there, hold hands, and click their heels together three times repeating ... the virus is gone, the virus is gone, the virus is gone."

Well compared to Europe and the USA and Canada it is gone. The latest news from France:

Coronavirus: France reports more than 30,000 new infections

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54557549

When I read the above headline. I pray and I say: Thank you god, I live in Japan. I don't live in the disease ridden West.

Makes absolutely no sense to compare France with Japan. France is currently testing over 1.4 million people / week.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Just like with WW2 or the hyper industrialization of the 1950s and 60s, once the J-elites have set their sights on a goal they don't care a damn how many ordinary Japanese have to die to achieve it. Sickening.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

When the results come in, and you see more Flu deaths than COVID-19 deaths, don't be surprised.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

People complained when it was 5000, then 50% yet hasn't resulted in outbreaks

Yup only way to really determine if it would work and to what extent is to test and actually do it. Good that they have been doing it gradually

People have been complaining all this time about packed trains still operating also but no outbreaks attributed to it as far as I know.

But it's also good that many people think it's best to just stay home.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Makes absolutely no sense to compare France with Japan. France is currently testing over 1.4 million people / week.

Yes, no sense to compare number of cases because even though number of cases depends on the number of actually infected, tests are needed to actually determine them.

But I think it's ok to compare outcomes.

For Japan it's around 1,700 deaths so far for a population of around 126 million.

For France it's around 33,000 deaths so far for a population of around 65 million.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

@carpslidy had outlined the procedures that will be in place above, @i@n has made excellent points about infection / death rate. It's time to kick start stuff again. With NO vaccine on the near horizon, the borders here still essentialy closed, preventing imported cases, how much longer would some of you have this continue for?

With the massive lack of testing here, coupled with proposals like this very topic, it could be said that Japan is pursuing herd immunity which in my opinion is no bad thing.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

Saying everyone will die is a bit over the top. Do you know what the recovery rate for this is? Maybe look it up before making such comments

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Literally playing with people's lives... university 101, no trials should cause human suffering.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

I'm not sure I buy the 'there haven't been out breaks' argument. In January, February and early March it was business as usual and we had the first massive spike and deaths in April and May. This lead to the SOE and, more importantly, dramatic changes in behaviour beyond the government guidelines. After the SOE ended the government pushed an all-is-well message and urged return to normal, and in July and August another big spike. This in turn led to rollback of some of those return to normal policies, and again saliently changes to more preventative behaviour. Now the case numbers have peeled back and deaths are stabilised at around 5-10 a day (much worse than June and early July by the way), there is more all is well behaviour. Without any real tangible efforts to conduct widespread tracing and solid prevention or mitigation, there is no reason to believe history won't repeat and in a month or two we will backslide. It is what it is I guess, but I disagree with the statement that this entire 9 months has just been win after win for Japan.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Soooo, what would happen if someone has a high temp or no mask? Would they bar them from entering? Get a refund? Hold them on the side? Send them to the hospital? Who's gonna enforce all this? Doesn't seemed really thought through, as usual.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Waywardnihon

well said.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Maybe this is their taciturn way of saying that the virus isn't as dangerous as they had earlier claimed. To come out and say it directly would risk losing face - a big no-no - so this could be a face-saving measure.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

@janeM2

Thre is already a contact tracing application - ココア - which is used reportedly by over 80% of the native population.

Obviously this is false. 50% of Japanese smart phones use Android and Play Store shows there are only about 5 million downloads of ココア or about 10% of Android users. Many must have deleted it as there are a lot of 1 star ratings. 20 million Japanese do not even have a smartphone. Someone else can give the iPhone numbers.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

ZorotoToday  02:09 pm JST

they

Who is 'they'?

The government.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

So, since they aren't testing, they won't know if people have it before they enter, and won't know if they have it when they leave -- until a few weeks after this super-spreader is finished, and then they'll just say, "Well, no one died during the game... so... success?"

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Let's test our strategy by packing thousands of people into a stadium and count how many will die".

Not into baseball, but I would be into a human test trial on a cruise boat.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Look East. They have good results. Obedience is their forte. In corona times, Japan, China and Vietnam have shown constructive vision and daring creativity. Citizens in those countries are law abiding.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

If a person has had the virus and recovered, perhaps they could set up a big event to attend. Would be interesting to know if they had acquired any lasting immunity to the virus or have sufficient antibodies.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wow. That is completely insane. Guinea pigs for the Olympics. The contempt that the corporate powers have for the population is immeasurable.

How about: All the sponsors and those who will profit from the 2021 Olympic Games are crowded into the stadium with their families, alongside an equal number of infected individuals.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Wear NIOSH N95 mask and goggles to see their efficacy. It might become the standard when attending any packed games

And no cheering. Maybe gasping for the winner is ok.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Desperation for the Olympics is starting to show with this ""test""............it doesnt sound like they have any real plan to monitor before & after, my guess is they just want to fill the stadium up & then lie afterwards, like many things I simply do NOT trust the govt here to do right by its own people, your mileage may vary

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The rest of the world is imposing lockdowns to limit the spread of the virus.

No, countries facing increasing rates are imposing lockdowns. Countries that have their curve flattened and have numbers in control are not imposing lockdowns. It depends upon the state of events in the country.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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