Coronavirus - Paranoia and Media Control

So you thought I had forgotten about you? Nah, I just was enjoying my time here in Japan a bit too much...

Let's go straight to the point. Is the whole COVID-19 thing a scare tactic of the decade, or is it worth emptying out every supermarket and replenishing the diesel fuel for our bunker generators?

To the surprise of noone, it's nothing at all. Almost nobody can die because of it, it's not as infectious as the media want you to believe, and in places that are really at risk (Korea, Japan), not much has changed. To give numbers, COVID mortality between 0 and 49 years is anywhere between 0.2% and 0.4% (depending on who you ask). The common flu (influenza) has a mortality rate of 0.2%, but it has dozens (hundreds?) of times more infected people.

As many as 61,000 people died in the 2017-2018 flu season, and 45 million were infected. Less than 4000 COVID-related deaths have been reported.

Here's the main difference: in the West, people are used to have their feelings dictated by that damned box in the living room, so it's easy to control the masses with fear. In the East, where there's a lot more social mentality, it's very different.

One thing I can say is that here (Japan), the general populace is more aware and interested in preventing, instead of just panicking. Schools were supposed to go on Spring Break next month, and instead they moved it to this week. Museums are closed. Temples have had their purification station removed. Most people wear masks in public places (normally it's about 1 out of 5, maybe 1 out of 3 during hay fever season, but now it's more like 4 out 5 with a mask, especially on the subway).

This said, it's not all that simple. Japanese people aren't immune to these scare tactics. In the language course I'm going to, there's a couple of guys who can't even go on Tinder dates because their matches don't want to leave their house or dare to go to downtown Tokyo. A hilarious example (maybe told whilst playing a tiny violin), but still showing the underlying issue. The maybe positive thing is that most companies allow you to setup a VPN and work from home, if you want to.

For the common tourist or student (such as myself), it's a mixed bag. On one hand, the city is emptier, meaning less queues, less chaos and even cheaper prices due to the extremely low amount of tourism going on. On the other hand, it's quite the nuisance. Many public places are closed (I really wanted to go to TeamLab and Ghibli Museums) and there's shortage of some items.

Which reminds me! Here's a fun fact: I am here staying with a family of four (mom, dad, and two toddlers); a couple of days ago, the dad sends me this text:

After some research, I found out that there was this rumour that spread like wildfire, stating that all toilet paper in Japan was produced in China, and because they were shutting down trade with them, the whole country would run out. People went to great lengths to empty every supermarket out of every single roll. Now, there's a drought, and my butt feels unloved.

In short: the hysteria and paranoia going on in the west, especially in countries like Italy, is a complete waste of resources. I think it will be a case study for years to come, to teach how not to do things.

And with that, I have to get ready for class. Until next time!

Reference images from 
www.independent.co.uk
fallout.fandom.com
www.telegraph.co.uk