knittyelf comments

Wow - down 800 today.

After almost a year and a half, you still don’t understand the pattern of Japan’s testing??? It always goes down on Sunday and even further down on Monday because the number of tests drop drastically for the weekend. Also, this is Obon.

Week on week the number of new cases increased over 200, which is bad. Also, the number of severe cases (something the “this is fine” crowd kept harping on about earlier this month as if they didn’t understand the increase in severe cases generally follows 2 weeks after an increase in overall cases) also continues to jump every single day. For those who are confused: This is also very bad.

I really question some people’s basic logic skills.

Keep in mind that this is Obon. 229 more than the previous Sunday despite being a holiday weekend is bad. Watch the numbers jump even more next week once Obon ends.

How about you aim to promote vaccines by giving vaccines? Stop making it so hard to get one here.

I take back what I wrote above. My ward FINALLY started to accept reservations from people under 49 only two days ago, it seems. I just got a reservation for the end of September. That’s half a year after all my family in the US got their first dose, but I’ll take it.

Literally everybody I know has had at least one shot. Yes, you do have to have to move quick and monitor the websites for slots but it's not impossible or as difficult as some are making out especially on this website.

I strongly disagree. My ward is still not vaccinating anyone under 49.

I’m finding it hard to believe so many people unable to get vaccinated. My vouchers were sent from Hyogo prefecture and I could have had first jab by now, I am not elderly, sick or obese. 

How many people live in Hyogo? How many people live in Tokyo? Try to think beyond yourself for once.

The situation now is clearly much worse than when they decided no spectators for the Olympics. Why haven’t they already announced no spectators for the Paralympics? Things aren’t going to magically clear up in the next two weeks.

@Liam Roberts

Some posters on here left this country to get the vaccine in an other country then comes back to still complain about Japan’s testing and vaccination program

What’s your point? I got my vaccine in the US when I traveled home for my father’s memorial service last month. My husband and I literally walked into a grocery store with no appointment (and no ID in my Japanese husband’s case) and got it for free. My family couldn’t believe that we still hadn’t gotten it because they were all vaccinated in March and April.

In Japan, we finally got our stupid vouchers in the middle of July, but they came with a note saying our ward was not vaccinating anyone under 49 and had no date set for when those of us in our 30s could even try to book an appointment. I’m very glad we got vaccinated in the US because it’s looking like we won’t be able to get an appointment until November or December in Japan, which will be one full year after the vaccines starting rolling out in the UK and other countries.

It’s absolutely ridiculous how much Japan is bungling the vaccine rollout and limiting tests, and we have every right to complain about it. Especially after seeing firsthand how much better it could be!

@Zoroto

I guess I am very confused what sending an antigen kit will accomplish? Show that the attendee had a past COVID infection?

Antigen tests are used for diagnosing current infections. That’s what a lot of the clinics here use.

According to the CDC website: Antigen tests are immunoassays that detect the presence of a specific viral antigen, which implies current viral infection. 

source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antigen-tests-guidelines.html

@Wakarimasen

Why not insist on vaccination?

Do you live in Japan??? Very few young people have been able to get a vaccine yet here.

Also, as others have pointed out, vaccinated people can still carry and give Covid to others. I got vaccinated during my trip to the US, but I’m still taking all precautions for my own sake and the sake of others.

So much info missing even about these 84 poor souls. Why do they not know the age or date of death of some??? Do they not care to even try to find out?

The total radio silence on the next Animal Crossing update certainly isn’t helping. They promised 2 years of updates but haven’t announced even a hint of a real update for months. The crappy communication is leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths.

Their classifications are also ridiculous. They call people with pneumonia who need supplemental oxygen “moderate.”

I meant “its.”

@Kentarogaijin

Why not the whole 50??..

Everything there is a dissater..

Yeah, maybe the US should’ve buried it’s head in the sand and massively restricted testing a la Japan...

@dagon

Florida is already on the list. This article was just mentioning the 3 latest states to be added to the list.

It would be nice if the article actually included a table of all the states/countries forced to quarantine in a hotel because the official Japanese government page is a nightmare to read. Whoever designed it should be fired.

"In Vietnam where inoculations have not progressed, many people are feeling the inconvenience..." Hosoi said.

"In JAPAN where inoculations have not progressed, many people are feeling the inconvenience..." Hosoi said.

Fixed that for you.

So she has 2 pets and a $3000 leather couch, but can't pay rent? 

My pets are my family members. Would you sell a kid if you couldn’t make rent?

The couch was likely bought way before the pandemic. Selling it now wouldn’t help much.

I 100% agree. The media should’ve pointed out the lack of vaccines as soon as Koike made that asinine statement, but the Japanese media seem to be mostly mouthpieces for the government incapable of questioning anything they’re told.

Tell that to Japan. The price of Covid-19 tests is ridiculous, and then you have to pay more just to get digital results with your name included. I was hoping to use the free email saying my results were negative, but it didn’t have enough info to be accepted by the airline, unfortunately.

I agree the new cases likely did not come from people related to the Olympics, as the virus has been going around Japan largely unchecked for the past year, and the usual stupid measures they take are even less effective for the Delta variant.

However, as others have said, the focus on promoting Tokyo as “safe” and suppressed testing led to really mixed messaging, and I can’t blame people for being angry at being asked to stay home when tens of thousands of people were invited into the country for the Olympics.

On a related note, the Olympic bubble is absolute bullsh*t. One NBC reporter flew to Tokyo this past Friday and showed footage of herself and other NBC staff touring Sky Tree Tower and Tokyo Tower this past weekend. This morning, they showed footage of them eating at a restaurant (albeit with no other customers). I don’t know when the other three staff arrived in Japan, but clearly she didn’t even follow the 3-day quarantine that some Olympic officials were supposed to do.

My husband and I were guessing that the gov would try to blame the uptick in cases on foreigners, but it seems they’ve decided to scapegoat young people instead. Very interesting.

I hope the young push back. As many have already pointed out, it’s ridiculously difficult for most people to get a vaccine in Japan right now. My voucher finally came on July 15, but my ward also included a note saying that only people 49 and above were eligible. It also said there was no date set for when those of us younger than that could make an appointment.

My husband and I just got the J&J vaccine at a grocery store in the US. No appointment or stupid voucher necessary. For my Japanese husband, no ID was even necessary, and it was totally free for both of us.

Cheap international fares? Where? The flight from Tokyo to DC used to be around $1300-1400, but now it’s hard to find a basic economy seat for under $2000.

My husband and I feel that they won’t try to suppress the testing as much now that the Olympics have started. Instead, they’ll let the numbers creep up and up closer to the real figures and try to blame them on the foreigners who came for the Olympics. Most of the Japanese public will likely fall for that because the media has continuously acted like Covid-19 is something brought in from abroad, not something that’s been going around the country largely unchecked for the past year.

I just hope they don’t try to lock down the border even for foreign residents again like they did last year. Several politicians admitted that was just to make the Japanese public feel safer, and I can see them pulling that shitty move again after the Olympics end. My mom just lost her husband of 45 years, and I don’t want to leave her alone at Christmas. I’m already vaccinated (got it in the US during my trip for my dad’s memorial service) and am happy to comply with quarantines if need be.

I love teleworking, but my company has already announced the option for it will completely disappear once the pandemic ends. They only allow it during state of emergencies now anyway. I really wish Japan wouldn’t fight the future so hard.

@carpslidy

I’m very sorry to hear about your father. Mine was diagnosed last July, and I was blocked from seeing him until mid-December.

I’m very glad I traveled to see him (enduring quarantines on both ends) because he passed away in January. The doctors had said he had 2-5 years, so his sudden passing was a huge shock to all of us. Covid-19 caused too many delays in his treatment. I strongly believe he would still be with us today had he been diagnosed one year earlier in 2019.

@Antiquesaving

I’m very sorry to hear that you lost family as well.

@Tokyoite

Today there were 12 deaths.

Today, there were 12 deaths of people who were diagnosed with Covid before they died and whose families allowed them to report it as a Covid death.

Autopsies aren’t routinely done here, and as we know, they’re refusing to test a lot of people while they’re still alive. Also, it came out a few months ago that many areas in Japan are seeking permission from families to count the deaths as being caused by Covid. If the families say no, they aren’t entered in the official stats, which is absolutely crazy.

Do I think we will all die from Covid? Absolutely not. But I do think the posters on here who downplay Covid and say we should all live life totally normally right now are incredibly selfish people who can’t think of anyone other than themselves.

High numbers of Covid cases impact so many people. My dad died from lack of prompt medical treatment last year for a medical condition unrelated to Covid. The hospital system was completely overrun, and he had to wait months between appointments. By the time he finally got his tests for a transplant, it was too late, and he passed away in the hospital without any of us being able to visit him. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else, so if wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, and staying home for a few more months can help, then that’s what I’ll do.

@joffy

I’m not even talking about random testing, though. They’re refusing to test people with Covid symptoms who were in the same office as someone diagnosed with Covid because they weren’t “close contacts.” They apparently defined a “close contact” in this case as being within 1 meter of the infected person without a mask. I don’t know anywhere else in the world that makes it this hard to get a damn Covid test. They’re clearly doing it to keep the numbers down.

Hard to see so far how this is the most expensive Olympics on record. It looks very cheap.

Also, what’s with the athletes and other people wearing masks as chin guards or not at all (ex. the whole Turkmenistan team)?