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No need to stop social activities with Omicron: COVID adviser

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Sakurasuki

why would people be surprised? even in the article above they said to expect a rise after golden week…

I’m happy that they are finally admitting this out loud. Many have known this for a looooong time now.

11 ( +16 / -5 )

We've known this for months now.

11 ( +16 / -5 )

Wearing a mask in Japan, unlike other countries, has never been a legal requirement but a request backed up unquestioning obedience tinged with a good dose of fear

11 ( +13 / -2 )

About time. Many have been saying this for months.

10 ( +18 / -8 )

He basically said we (probably) no longer need to do what we are no longer doing. Talk about a slow reaction. What leadership.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

People haven't by and large stopped social activities. This isn't Shanghai.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

If Corona were such a big problem then vast numbers of people in Africa would be dead as the governments there were not able to vaccinate the majority using the mRNA vaccines

However, keep taking the endless boosters and then wonder why your immune system isn’t working one day…

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Forward - learn to live with it as with other communicable diseases - I’ve been a front line worker since day one . People now need to take on personal responsibility for their well being as far as going out , masking ,and their personal health compass is .

4 ( +8 / -4 )

But kids over 5 must continue to wear masks! Madness!

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Can we ditch the masks too please?

Pointless wearing them unless the fully seal around your face and have a properly rated particle filter anyway.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

"It's hard to gain public understanding and cooperation if we continue to focus on measures just to reduce the number of infected people," he said.

The Japanese are the most compliant people bearing their mask wearing and crowded trains with the utmost fortitude-admirable!

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Wearing a mask in Japan regularly became part of the culture a hundred years ago and its not going to change.

Social activities were never stopped but just toned down a little.

Time to open up Japan to tourism .

1 ( +10 / -9 )

Caring only about what you want to do without consideration to public health is not exactly an example to follow

How can you suggest I do not consider the public health ?

My social activities are centered around outdoors sports, where the health risk is zero. I am always considering pf others.

I have been joining events / races with hundreds of non masked people without any issues.

But when I see advices such as not cheering in outdoor stadiums or whatever, I am wondering why those experts or advisors are supporting such a non sense that is killing the human behavior and social relationships.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Easing off too much during the presence of a mild variant gives the bug more of a change to randomly mutate into a more serious variant.

But it gives us a chance to develop long-lasting immunity.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

I think he needs to go a bit further and start saying that children at school no longer need to wear masks. This would help get them back to normal learning and also, as it is likely that a sudden no wearing of masks will cause a spike it is best to do on a group that has so far not really been harmed by the virus.

I agree it would help if he or the Gov said it but parents can already send their kids to school with no masks if they choose (public school anyway).

My wife rang the local city hall when the city sent our requests for kids to wear masks which the school then handed out to parents. She asked them to provide the scientific evidence behind their mask request and also for any studies on adverse effects of developmental learning where kids can't see visual cues from friends and teachers. It also affects breathing and increases stress. Also, being a nurse, she knows they are pretty much usless for Covid anyway, unless a N95 or above and told them children fidget with them non stop making them actually less than useless.

The city said of course, it's only a request, not a law and they called the school and they sent letters saying now the parents can decide if their kids go masked or not. Otherwise there would have been blind compliance for no reason.

The school were fairly pleased as they don't want to constantly be yelling at kids about masks and most of the teachers don't want to wear them either. Stressing them out and increasing workload.

We decide it's not in our childs health, development or interest to wear one, so they don't.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Vaccines come with unnecessary risks, more risky than omicron for the young and healthy.

Sounds really dumb if you don't provide any kind of proof, you have any?

1 ( +9 / -8 )

At this point no measures need to be "enforced", as we should by now know to be cautious. Easing off too much during the presence of a mild variant gives the bug more of a change to randomly mutate into a more serious variant.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Good to see Mr Omi come to his senses and stop the fear mongering about Omicron. It was obvious by late December this variant was very mild and impossible to prevent the spread.

People need to enjoy life, every day of it, not be holed up indoors, especially the children.

0 ( +11 / -11 )

Wick's pencil - But it gives us a chance to develop long-lasting immunity.

Did your grandma tell you this? This is an extreme infuenza virus. There is no such thing as building up a long-lasting immunity for a virus. The only thing you can do is get vaccinated to avoid ending up in the ICU.

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

@ian

Maybe the explanation is in the diet which can be found here.

https://plantbasednews.org/opinion/the-long-read/africas-low-covid-death-rates/

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Not sure I want to listen to this guy if the had anything to do with allowing GO TO! JAPAN.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

It is interesting that while Japan controlled the lethal Delta variant, it is struggling with the non-lethal Omicron variant. Wonder why that is?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

@ian

There are vast numbers of people dead elsewhere.

Where?

People die everyday, don’t they?

People die due to COVID or with COVID?

Why the disparity in death rates and reporting?

Why do deaths in the first world outnumber third world countries?

It can’t be inferior medical practice can it?

Maybe, it is because the first world countries have a high number of elderly who are more prone to death?

That couldn’t be it,could it?

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Sven AsaiToday  12:09 pm JST

More and more severe LongCovid symptoms as well as a significantly lowered life expectancy (on average) will soon teach you that these naive opening attempts are much more suicidal to the society than the short term economic revival effects that are hoped for and considered here only. What a big cardinal mistake how to (in fact not at all) handle that corona viruses spreading for already two years and continuing.

Then all those poor souls who are vaccinated and still caught Covid won’t be happy with you or your masters!

-2 ( +7 / -9 )

So you're saying it's not covid that caused vast numbers of dead in other countries?

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Here’s a link to something from NHK relating to children wearing masks, as far as I know they are not anti everything.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1475/

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

If Corona were such a big problem then vast numbers of people in Africa would be dead as the governments there were not able to vaccinate the majority using the mRNA vaccines

There are vast numbers of people dead elsewhere.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

That’s what I have been doing for the last two years, not stopping my social activities.

Now, as long as the advisor does not say to take off masks, people will keep wearing it.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Thomas

Unfortunately for the children the bad decisions made by the adults have been a poor choice for them.

Mask wearing retards the social interaction between children and their peers. Children have never really been at any risk from Covid yet we expect them to remote study and mask up. We have many adults who have responded badly to covid, fear mongering and causing stress within the family and friends. A child in an environment of fear is not in a good place, but many have been in that place the last two years. We have a certain chap commenting here daily who wants lockdowns etc, prison for unvaxxed, imagine how his kids fare in that environment.

society has failed them during Covid, those at the least risk.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

No need to stop social activities with Omicron: COVID adviser

What next? GoToTravel? After that people will be surprised again why Omicron XE variant number in Japan is high after Golden Week.

-5 ( +10 / -15 )

Great fan of GoTo. But we should shut down the economy if somebody has seasonal influenza and common cold.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

But it gives us a chance to develop long-lasting immunity.

According to the rates of reinfection observed with the variants this is a very low chance, and that comes with unnecesssary risks. Specially the risk of a variant that can make this "long lasting" immunity worthless.

Reinfection does happen, but at a much lower rate than infections of the vaccinated. Vaccines come with unnecessary risks, more risky than omicron for the young and healthy.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

On 2nd thought …. I’ve seen the light! Despite that on average, this calendar year the number of deaths per day have been the highest …. It is time to open up. Move on… and not half way …. End all border controls immediately. The “3C’s” forget about them now. Toss those masks away . “Go To?” Might as well hurry up there too. Most of all , end the corporate welfare payments that all these rich business owners have been pocketing for way too long. Make them earn it . In fact , I’m going a full 180…. Wear a mask ?

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

Where?

People die everyday, don’t they?

People die due to COVID or with COVID?

Why the disparity in death rates and reporting?

Why do deaths in the first world outnumber third world countries?

It can’t be inferior medical practice can it?

Maybe, it is because the first world countries have a high number of elderly who are more prone to death?

That couldn’t be it,could it?

How do these questions support your thesis that:

If Corona were such a big problem then vast numbers of people in Africa would be dead

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

No restrictions are required. Those that wish to wear a mask should do so, and those that are sick should stay at home. Nothing more needed.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

About time. Many have been saying this for months.

That is the huge difference of just saying thing you want to be true and the experts considering first the evidence to avoid making incorrect recommendations. It is very different to just say things irresponsibly or do it properly with the data on hand.

That’s what I have been doing for the last two years, not stopping my social activities.

Caring only about what you want to do without consideration to public health is not exactly an example to follow, the difference is that now people that are considerate and responsible can expand their activities without trying to ignore the advice of the experts to do it.

Can we ditch the masks too please?

Pointless wearing them unless the fully seal around your face and have a properly rated particle filter anyway.

What you mention is how masks have full efficacy, but this is not something that goes from 100% to 0 without anything in the middle, wearing properly the masks is much better, but a loose fit or lack of HEPA filters do not make the masks suddenly useless, just less effective. Even if it was the case this would justify much better a recommendation to use the masks properly, not to stop using them.

-7 ( +11 / -18 )

How can you suggest I do not consider the public health ?

You are the one suggesting it by directly replying to a comment that talks about socials activities in general. As if that changed how your own activities would be perceived.

I have been joining events / races with hundreds of non masked people without any issues

Holding events outsides is part of the recommendations that have been active until now (and that are being relaxed now). What you are saying is of little relevance to the change in recommendations because the people affected are those that are refraining fron doing things (such as attending big events indoors) but that now may consider doing it without going against sensible recommendations.

But it gives us a chance to develop long-lasting immunity.

According to the rates of reinfection observed with the variants this is a very low chance, and that comes with unnecesssary risks. Specially the risk of a variant that can make this "long lasting" immunity worthless.

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

More and more severe LongCovid symptoms as well as a significantly lowered life expectancy (on average) will soon teach you that these naive opening attempts are much more suicidal to the society than the short term economic revival effects that are hoped for and considered here only. What a big cardinal mistake how to (in fact not at all) handle that corona viruses spreading for already two years and continuing.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

Reinfection does happen, but at a much lower rate than infections of the vaccinated. Vaccines come with unnecessary risks,

No, reinfection come at a lower total number compared with infection in vaccinated people, but that is expected if much more people are vaccinated now than unvaccinated. Vaccines do not come with unnecessary risks because the vaccination reduces the risk for everybody for whom the vaccine is indicated, the infection on the other hand produces at much similar immunity but come with the much higher full rates of risk of complication and death of the natural infection.

more risky than omicron for the young and healthy.

That is of course completely false, the scientific consensus is that vaccines also reduce the risk from Omicron and that is why every institution of science and medicine of the world recommend people to get vaccinated (even if young and healthy) to avoid COVID by Omicron.

-8 ( +5 / -13 )

Talk about an absolutely horrible choice of words at possibly the worst time . The highly irresponsible minority wouldn’t get with the program and Japan wants to shake the stigma that life in Japan has been like Shanghai…. While some of you will falsely claim this is an actual change in behavior…. It is not. It is a change in messaging. So don’t overplay his ill advised words . Read the headline and story again … Social activities haven’t stopped and there aren’t any ghost towns .

-14 ( +2 / -16 )

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