How Is Japan Dealing With the Pandemic?

When the first news about the coronavirus broke, the Japan stood out. After all, the country is part of the continent where the disease started, in addition to having the oldest population in the world. According to the World Bank¹, 28% of the Japanese are over 60 years old.

As it is a disease that causes inflammation in the body, the coronavirus can aggravate other health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In the elderly, the danger is even greater, since in addition to having more of these diseases, immunity is also more fragile at this stage of life.

However, fortunately, Japan did not have such a sharp curve in the number of deaths as other locations, including Brazil. Until the 3rd of June, the Asian country had registered almost 17 thousand cases of infected and 900 deaths, while here the number of infected was more than 585 thousand and 32,568 lives lost.

How is Japan dealing with the pandemic?

What has the country done for this?

Although the World Health Organization has recommended a number of measures, including that people stay indoors, this seems not to have been the secret of Japan being less affected than other nations.

The government did not determine the lockdown, as it happened in Spain and Italy. So much so that on March 22, the Japanese went to the Cherry Blossom Festival — one of the biggest traditions in the country. However, in April, the state of emergency was determined, which also occurred in other locations around the world.

So why are the Japanese numbers relatively lower? How did the population and the government view the pandemic?

Unlike other countries, Japan invested more on testing. By identifying who is infected, it is possible to isolate that person so that they do not contaminate others. Even so, researchers still believe that the country could carry out a greater number of tests.

Another factor that may have contributed to the disease being less felt in the Asian country is the people's culture². The Japanese are very concerned about hygiene. Therefore, they wash their hands frequently, in addition to keeping a certain distance from other people.

The mask, which has become one of the items to avoid contagion, is already an accessory adopted by many Japanese. At people wear mask in Japan for cultural reasons and also to protect health.

In addition, as soon as the coronavirus arrived in Japan, the authorities tried to suspend public events and close schools, as a way to avoid agglomerations. It was not necessary for the first deaths to be recorded for the Japanese to understand the seriousness of the problem that was circulating.

How is Japan dealing with the pandemic?

What can we learn?

From the government's point of view, it would be interesting for Brazil to make more tests available to the population. Thus, it would be possible to trace the path of contagion, isolate infected people and prevent the numbers from increasing.

In the private sector, several stores and businesses are closed to avoid agglomerations or taking precautionary measures. According to Porta Folhetos³, for example, those who bought products from Loja Cem to be paid at the store do not need to worry now, as the units are closed indefinitely.

Other businesses across the country are also following the authorities' guidelines. In the case of some bank agencies, the schedules were changed so that the elderly could solve the pending issues more peacefully.

With regard to individual care, it is need to do like the japanese: maintain isolation, wear a mask and do hand hygiene frequently. Although these attitudes do not completely prevent the spread of the disease, they greatly reduce the risks, including contamination by another virus or bacteria.

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