01-17-2022, 10:47 AM
(01-17-2022, 12:11 AM)jeffster Wrote: Places like Japan have done fairly well, all considering. But things like cleanliness are held in high regard over there, unlike Canada, where cleanliness and hygiene isn't even a second though, let alone first.
Having spent rather a lot of time in Japan over the past years ... it's definitely a tidy place, people keep their properties clean and don't drop trash on the streets or scribble graffiti on the walls. But actual hygiene? It was not so much different, pre-COVID (haven't been there since COVID so don't know what it is like now), there was no disinfection. You would get a towel/towelette to clean your hands before eating at a restaurant, but that was really it. (But, as Dan says, this isn't really a significant infection path anyway.)
What is different, though, is the acceptance of masking, and the acceptance of distancing. Even before COVID, people would tend to keep their distance, hugs etc in public are rare. Also, a high degree of societal cohesion, and understanding the need to not infect others. On the other hand ... the public transport is often very busy.
Another difference is the small percentage of foreign-born residents. This results in fewer trips abroad, and fewer infections brought in. The borders were never locked as hard as NZ or China, but there were far fewer people arriving at airports than there have been in Canada. And no commercial traffic from a large neighbouring country!
They are being hit by Omicron now, but the relative numbers are quite low. At least for now.