The number of corona virus Japanese patients has gone up to 73 people - excluding the patients from the cruise ship, but including foreign nationals who are staying in Japan.
Japan is now one of the countries with large number of patients after China.
Many people wear surgical masks in public areas such as shopping malls, theaters - and some companies are asking their employees to stay home and work online so that they don't have to worry about going into a crowd in the trains or stations.
Downside of this corona virus:
1. Many events are being cancelled - including Tokyo marathon 2020
*Elite runners of 200 are still running, but no other runners are allowed to join.
2. Decrease number of Chinese tourists - businesses targeting Chinese visitors are now down
3. People are having hard time finding masks
Japanese people are not too worried about getting infected by corona yet as the number still is 73 patients among 100 million population - however, we hear news all the time so as mentioned above, masks and sanitizers are all gone from stores.
So, if you are coming to Japan for business or leisure, wear a mask, carry sanitizers with you.
And don't be scared when you see many people wearing masks in the trains or public places.
Good side effects caused by this corona virus:
1. Usually crowded areas are empty or with less people (restaurants, shopping malls)
2. People sanitize more - wash hands - hand shakes seem like are not a good option to greet
3. People are using online effectively
*Meetings online, no commute time wasted, but people are realizing they can still work from home.
Hopefully, when the weather gets a bit warmer, the invasion of the virus stops
Hopefully Tokyo Olympic Games can be held as planned.
We can only pray for those who are infected by the virus, and for their quick recovery.
