1/ A (long) tale of COVID-19 testing in Japan.

One of my SO’s staff members was PCR-tested Friday week ago, after waking up with flu-like symptoms & calling in sick.

Admitted to partying with fellow 20-something friends over the long w/end (30 July - 2 August).

2/ My SO had repeatedly urged her staff not to socialise in large groups over the long w/end, especially given the nature of their job - childcare work. This advice was completely ignored by the staff member in question & subsequently put 60 kids, their parents, staff & families

3/ at risk. Anywhere from 250-300 peeps.

Worst part?

The city government refused to shut down the childcare centre in question ‘until’ the test result was known. Surely, this must have breached occupational health & safety rules, not to mention other laws around endangering

4/ members of the public - in this case, babies, toddlers & small children (& their families). Why did the government gamble that window of risk?

Who was to say that other staff hadn’t already been infected? And my SO’s head office stated that the parents couldn’t be informed

5/ that the case related to her specific childcare centre (branch), as it was a breach of privacy.

My SO was severely distressed at the time & had to email/call all the parents & simply urge them not to use the centre, even though powerless to close it down.

6/ A bit of verbal gymnastics was involved, however, she succeeded in getting the message across.

The staff member’s test result came back positive last w/end & the childcare centre was ‘officially’ closed from this Monday. This is where the story gets even crazier.

7/ Public health officials visited the childcare centre on Monday & performed a cursory investigation. They concluded that most of the staff didn’t require testing, nor did any of the 60 kids. This is despite the fact that all of the staff & kids were exposed to the staff member

8/ in question for 4 full days during the week. My SO tried to explain that all the staff were nervous (as were their families) & had a right to be tested. She also tried to explain that the parents were nervous about their own children having been exposed & may request tests.

9/ At the very minimum, most parents would expect all the staff to be tested before putting their kids back in the childcare centre again once it reopens. This fell on flat ears.

My SO has to self-isolate at home for two weeks.

10/ My son & I have been sleeping & eating separately from her & confined to different parts of our home. Any communication has been done from a distance & with of all us masked within our home. My SO spent the entire week contacting her HO & demanding that they organise tests

11/ for her, all the staff & any kids whose parents requested tests. Her HO completely stonewalled her. Promises to email & call back were never made. My SO kept following up & was coldly told that her company was going to follow the public health officials line that testing was

12/ unnecessary.

I became involved & urged her senior management to make both a rational business decision & a compassionate/ethical one. I was ignored. An emergency meeting with the owner was held, but no outcomes from that meeting were conveyed to my SO or any other staff,

13/ parents, etc.

While all this was going down, I discovered that there had been another infection in a different branch a few days earlier. Those staff & parents had also been left in limbo by the abhorrent inaction of HO management.

14/ Unable to wait any longer, I organised for a home doctor from a private testing service to visit our home. He rocked up yesterday, tested my SO & her test result came back this morning. NEGATIVE!!! What a massive relief.

15/ My SO shed tears of joy & I was so emotional when my son asked me “Daddy, can I hug Mummy now?”

My SO’s staff are having to follow suit and organise their own private tests and on their own dime.

16/ In Japan, unless you have enduring symptoms & are given the green light by a public health centre set up for dealing with C19, you cannot be tested under the national health system. You can organise private tests. My SO’s test cost around 30,000 yen (AUD $400).

17/ Even if my SO’s company determined that the cost was going to be too great, the company would have health insurance to cover their staff for workplace incidents. It makes no sense for them to put their heads in the sand & refuse to support their staff & others to be tested.

18/ In other developed countries, I am confident that this story would make the news. The company would be dragged over the coals and face all sorts of legal repercussions. The government would be significantly embarrassed by their handling of the situation as well. Not in Japan.

19/ Japan has had a deliberate policy of under-testing in place from the moment C19 broke out. This is reflected in the stats, whereby Japan has performed fewer tests than countries such as Bangladesh. Testing is increasing, but has a long way to go.

Why share this?

20/ If you are living & working in Japan, do not assume that you will automatically be tested if one of your colleagues tests positive. It will be a combined decision involving public health officials (via local or city governments) & the benevolence of your company in question.

21/ You would think that individuals working in essential services, such as childcare, would deserve to be tested, given that they put their lives on the line everyday to service the community, however, that isn’t always the case.

22/ If you are a parent, ask the management of your childcare centre whether the staff are being tested & the centre’s policy in the event that someone tests positive.

My SO looks exhausted & feels very let down by both the city government & her company. And rightly so.

23/ Fortunately, her test result proved negative & we will celebrate this result together today.

Thanks kindly for reading.

#保育園コロナ