And Tokyo is out of "emergency declaration"!
By Denise
@petatonicsca (7070)
Japan
May 25, 2020 7:50pm CST
Last night at their 7:00 meeting, the metropolitan government announced that the greater Tokyo area, "itto sanken" or Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as of midnight would not be under emergency declaration. The Rainbow Bridge, which has been lighted in blue to thank health workers, will now be lighted in the seven colors of the rainbow, representing the seven things that are being monitored. If any of them exceed limits, the bridge will be lighted entirely in red to show a new emergency declaration.
But, as our lovely governor keeps reminding us, we don't want a "second wave" so please continue to be careful. I don't plan to change the way I do things any time in the near future, since I am teaching from home through June 16 and then teaching an online summer school class or classes sometime during the three weeks after that (it depends on enrollment, when and how much I teach). But I am thrilled that my granddaughter can go back to her second year of kindergarten (a three-year program).
Not to be outdone by Tokyo, Hokkaido's emergency has also been lifted. So the whole country is now in "Stage 1" of a three-step gradual reopening. Stage 1 allows schools, museums, libraries, gyms (with strict controls and disinfecting) and concerts with limited number of attendees. Steps 2 and 3, if all goes well, will happen at approximately 3-week intervals.
How goes it with you?
7 people like this
9 responses
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
26 May 20
I was surprised to see Japan go so slowly into "state of emergency" and "lockdowns" but since travel was banned so early on, it pretty much saved everyone, and adding that extra precaution really helped I bet. If only...If only...The US was smarter because our numbers are going up and up and we are without a doubt going to have a second wave even before the first wave calms down.
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
26 May 20
Yes, we took a while. At first the only thing that happened was that the schools closed, but it became apparent after a month that was not going to fix things, so we were encouraged to do telework, stagger work times so the crowds on the train were smaller, etc. Also, I think from contact tracing that the fact that businesses shut down before 8:00 p.m. really helped. A lot of infection was spread at night clubs or out drinking with company people.
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
27 May 20
@petatonicsca The fact that you didn't have a lockdown and still have so many fewer cases just shows that America has a lot to learn. We have orders and people still disobeyed them and that is why everything is so much worse than it should have been.
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
26 May 20
That is good news. Here, the headline says the mayors in the metro wants to ease down the lockdown. Maybe by June we shall have a new normal with no checkpoints and lockdowns anymore.
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
26 May 20
June seems to be the target for a lot of places. I sure hope we don't see any second waves in the summer. (Or any other time.) Will your students be going back to school?
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
26 May 20
@petatonicsca the headline today is the statement of our president that until the vaccine is developed it is better to not hold classes for this school year.
@Juliaacv (56273)
• Canada
26 May 20
The virus arrived later in our country of Canada.
We have been working from home and staying in, schools will not reopen at least until September.
They are trying to reopen slowly, but people seem to ignore their common sense-they go out without masks and do not practice social distancing. This is sad because we could slip back to the complete lockdown, and so many people have started to return to work but they will close things back down again if the situation worsens. Cases should be dropping but they are maintaining daily.
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
26 May 20
Yes, some of North America, not mentioning any countries south of you or anything, are a little too eager in my opinion. Japan was really, really careful.
@JudyEv (382104)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 May 20
That is really good news. I'm not sure what stage we're at but probably Stage 2. Groups are still banned over a certain number.
@RasmaSandra (98033)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 May 20
Everyone here is also free to do as they wish in Daytona Beach Florida and I just heard fireworks for Memorial Day weekend here.
@amitkokiladitya (171988)
• Agra, India
26 May 20
That sounds good. I hope you never see the virus again










