garth comments

Right now a reader poll on Yahoo JP has 83% agreeing that the travel campaign should be suspended, with 14% opposed; total just over 108,000 votes.

The chances of dying are close to zero

That very much depends on your age.

20 million plus

37 million

I see numbers like this a lot here. Let's get things straight. The metropolitan government's figures for infection refer to the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都), population a fraction under 14 million, not to the Greater Tokyo region, which includes the metropolis itself and the surrounding prefectures.

If you take a look at the map on this page:

https://www.fukushihoken.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/iryo/kansen/todokedehcyouseisya.html

you can see which areas belong to the metropolis and the confirmed cases for each on a daily basis.

There is absolutely nothing to be done to contain this virus other than protecting your more vulnerable people.

Has Dr. Hodkinson never heard of vaccines?

@Bjorn Tomention

So how do they classify serious ?

In the case of Tokyo, people who are on a ventilator or an ECMO machine. They have suffered a bit more than just a sneeze.

@gakinotsukai

It's actually even worse than that. Tokyo as included in the metropolitan government's figures is Tokyoto (東京都), about 14 million. The 37 million includes Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, known as the Greater Tokyo Area.

@NipponGlory

peoples' smart attitude and sensible actions regarding social distance here.

What social distancing? Don't you ever go out into town? Or perhaps you're being sarcastic?

Now that the IOC's Bach is on his way home they can start releasing more realistic figures.

313 new cases in S.Korea today, and 493 in Tokyo alone!

I know of 5 people infected so far, none have died and like Donald Trump

got better very quickly...

Wow, powerful argument. Not.

He'll pardon himself

The problem is whether he can get away with that. These are untested waters.

Will he be allowed to run his own TV channel from his prison cell?

and what does positive cases mean...it means nothing

Care to expand on this curious statement?

Just let it run its course, and we'll be fine.

1.3 million people around the world aren't fine. They're dead.

By all means, wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your distance if you wish

No, it's not a matter of if you wish to, it's your social responsibility to do so.

im a foreigner. I never wear a mask

I suggest you read Elvis_is_here's comment and the latest from the CDC.

So tell me why I should be scared again.

Because Mistress Fortune might turn against you at any time and even if she doesn't kill you she might leave you with long-term debilitating after-effects.

GoTo is not the problem.

Nonsense. GoTo Travel and GoTo Eat most certainly are part of the problem. As one Japanese commenter on Yahoo JP called it yesterday, 謎の政策 (nazo no seisaku, an unfathomable/baffling/inexplicable policy).

and people spend more time indoors without enough ventilation.

And every article connected to Covid keeps banging on about this.

And so it should. Ventilation is of vital importance to dilute and disperse aerosols.

Japan has also lifted its entry ban on foreign travelers from such countries as Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam plus Taiwan for non-tourist arrivals.

No, no, no, keep away for your own sakes.

Australia really must seriously rethink its plan, reported here yesterday, to reopen its air corridor with Japan.

They don't write the number of deaths in their own countries. I wonder why.

Because for those of us who live in Japan the numbers here are more important.

@Pukey2

Exactly. Japan is by no means a low-risk country in comparison with many other Asian nations.

Oh, let them pursue their frivolous lawsuits -- they're just the death throes of a dying animal.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is reported to be effective among all age groups, which is particularly important for older people. I hope the same turns out to be true for the Pfizer vaccine.

What’s the point so late in his term?

Revenge, pure and simple. To a malignant narcissist like Trump the urge must be overwhelming.

At some stage we can of course expect a flurry of presidential pardons for all of his convicted cronies, and I have no doubt that he'll try to pardon himself too -- something that's never been tried before, and it'll be interesting to see how that works out.

Temperature checks are of course important, but let's not forget that asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people don't have a fever but are nevertheless infectious.

What next for Trump?

Trump is a malignant narcissist already on the verge of dementia, and what worries me is what is going to happen over the coming days, weeks, and months after the narcissistic rage has fully set in.

Indeed, in 2024 I think he'll find it difficult to run an effective campaign for election from a prison cell.