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Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

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Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#421

Johns Hopkins has an world map with daily update of current coronavirus cases https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.h...

I would have expected to see Russia reporting more than two cases given the travel between the two countries.

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#422

I've been checking for updates on the virus several times a day since it first started being reported in Western media around Jan 20 (in part because it's been a fun distraction, in part because I have friends in Wuhan). I like to think I'm generally an optimist, but I think it's been clear for several weeks now that this is going to have a significant worldwide impact. There are just too many factors in favor of unc…

Living in Tokyo and just returned from Seoul yesterday. It's striking how differently the countries are handling this issue. Korea is pretty much on lockdown -- the government and the population are being quite proactive. Masks everywhere, thermal guns at junctions with high human traffic. Water fountains shut down, etc. Even the airport staff at the eateries were undergoing temperature checks before interacting with…

That's an interesting observation since when I were in Tokyo at peace time, many people did wear masks. It's also important to remember that basic sanitary and hygiene are also important which I'd like to believe that the Japanese are better than probably the rest of the world.

The difference is that maybe South Korea is in "panic mode" and Japan is yet to get there. They are less than half of Japan population and had 10 times more new cases in the last 24 hours.

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#423
post #156

I've been checking for updates on the virus several times a day since it first started being reported in Western media around Jan 20 (in part because it's been a fun distraction, in part because I have friends in Wuhan). I like to think I'm generally an optimist, but I think it's been clear for several weeks now that this is going to have a significant worldwide impact. There are just too many factors in favor of unc…

> I think when this all comes to an end, China will be one of the countries that dealt with the virus the best. Countries without authoritarian governments likely don't have the means to effectively quarantine major cities and shut down massive portions of their economy immediately without major problems arising. Given a couple weeks, sure, but by then it will be too late. It may well seem that way in retrospect. Whe…

Chernobyl comes to mind as another example of this.

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's the thing with Italy. They're the first Western country to get a major outbreak. They're being told to do things and assuming that it will stop the virus. But the truth is, containment does not actually stop the virus. It simply slows it. When or if this hits the US or elsewhere in Europe, and it becomes obvious that despite the quarantine in Italy, the virus still continued to spread, they will question the m…

> In China when the government tells its citizens to do something, they just do it. They don't ask why. They don't deliberate on whether it's the correct choice. They simply follow the directions. In the West, everything is up for debate. People don't like to be told what to do. Sigh, this is so cliché… I don't know where you're from, but the “west” as the unified entity you describe doesn't exist. When it comes to a…

> When it comes to authority and how people comply with the rules, France and Germany are more different than China and the US.

How so?

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#425
post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's the thing with Italy. They're the first Western country to get a major outbreak. They're being told to do things and assuming that it will stop the virus. But the truth is, containment does not actually stop the virus. It simply slows it. When or if this hits the US or elsewhere in Europe, and it becomes obvious that despite the quarantine in Italy, the virus still continued to spread, they will question the m…

slowing down the virus is required while hospital capacity is being scaled up.

And while we're quite literally waiting for the vaccine to be created. The fewer people get infected the next month or two, the better.

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you really think it will be any different in the USA or Europe? Will the governments ban conventions? Close restaurants and bars? Shut down shopping malls? Look at Italy right now. > Or will instead, in the interest of "the economy" (ie, money) keep too light a hand on things. Sure, but this has nothing to do with authoritarian states vs democracy. You'll find a ton of authoritarian states doing exactly the same…

Here's the thing with Italy. They're the first Western country to get a major outbreak. They're being told to do things and assuming that it will stop the virus. But the truth is, containment does not actually stop the virus. It simply slows it. When or if this hits the US or elsewhere in Europe, and it becomes obvious that despite the quarantine in Italy, the virus still continued to spread, they will question the m…

> But the truth is, containment does not actually stop the virus. It simply slows it

Isn't slowing it the best we can hope for? I mean, I'd rather the pandemic slowly take its course so that there's maximum chance a ventilator will be available if I need one when I get it in six months time. If everyone gets it on the same day.....

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#427
post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The authoritarianism is a red herring IMO. The real issue is economic incentives trumping everything else. For example in Japan if you test positive the hospital gets quarantined losing tons of money. In the US, you can end up payong huge medical bills. The fear is the same. The lesson from WW2 should have been that people are all the same when pushed to extremes. This includes the people who make up the communist pa…

This is a thoughtful comment. Don’t see why it’s getting downvoted.

“in Japan if you test positive the hospital gets quarantined losing tons of money” is at least inaccurate, Japan has national healthcare that short-term “sales”/cash strapping don’t matter for hospitals. Economy wise there’s nothing for their corporate to lose OR gain.

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#428
post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or mosquitoes and the malaria they spread... Malaria was responsible 405,000 deaths globally in 2018 according to [0]. [0] https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/world-m...

the best part in this all might be that chloroquine, an anti malaria drug, apparently is effective against covid-19.

Is it that anti malaria or HIV drug happens to be effective or are those weak poisons used in the hope that the subject individual outlive the pathogens under its influence

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#429

As someone tangentially attached to the sports community, the olympics is already a bit screwed up anyway, simply because the sports seasons (and thus the qualification pathway) for many events in the games have been significantly disrupted by the coronavirus. Many athletes who were in touching distance of qualifying will not be able to, and other athletes will be sent in their stead (if it happens at all) Olympic qu…

It is not your humble opinion. Sports are just entertainment nowadays. Lowest priority.

> Sports are just entertainment nowadays

As opposed to when they were military training in Ancient Greece?

Re: Tokyo Olympics “looking at a cancellation” if coronavirus not contained

#430
post #288
post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s ample evidence “going to church” is one way, and that’s not much different than the others.

Maybe participation in the holy communion by drinking from a cup of wine shared with the entire congregation isn't the best idea right now.

I presume that the alcohol from the wine would not be enough to kill the virus, right?
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