#Japan - #Covid_19
OK, folks, calm down (apologies here to Herr Maslow).
First, there is at least a five day lag time so whatever the number is today, it is the result of stupid and unsafe behavior from last weekend. That's water under the bridge now. 1/ https://twitter.com/smaslow_japan/status/1286175018007662592

Second, if you are wearing a mask and everyone around you is wearing a mask, windows are open and you are washing and sanitizing your hands all the time, you are over 99% of the way to perfect safety. 2/

Third, the number of deaths per day nationwide is around 1 so either
a) authorities are getting worse at finding #Covid_19 deaths (meaning that greater experience has made them less competent -- unlikely)
b) treatments are saving more folks (you would have heard about this) 2/

or
c) the virus strains being passed around are far less lethal, the more lethal ones having been pulled out of the population by death and quarantine, the less lethal ones surviving because they cause less illness and thus escape detection.
To be sure, deaths will rise... 4/

...over the next two weeks from now since the % of the infected over age 39 has passed 40%.
However, unless the deaths per day nationwide exceeds 15 (which is where we were in April-May) numbers like "360 infections in Tokyo today" should not have us losing our marbles. 5/

So keep your eyes on this number, the rise per day and the total as a fraction of the total number of infections.
[Hat tip to @KjeldDuits ]

Could the number of #Japan #Covid_19 infections been driven down to zero, minimizing the damage to the nation's travel industry, sports industry, retail sector, restaurants and education establishments? YES -- but the current political leadership blew it for all of us. 7/