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So I have a story on #facemasks and #COVID19 that I wanted to share..
In 2013, I traveled outside of the US for the first time in my life, and one of my first stops was Japan.
In 2013, I traveled outside of the US for the first time in my life, and one of my first stops was Japan.
And it sounded kind of funny at the time, but one thing I noticed about Japanese culture was the quiet, subtle politeness.. my favorite part being that, when even feeling a little bit ill, people wear face masks so that they don’t risk exposing others!
My friends laughed at me at the time, but this really did stick with me. I couldn’t help but think: “Why don’t we do that in the US!? That makes so much sense!” Especially as I came from a family that took precautions whenever flu season came around..
I was looking through my album recently and even found one person wearing a mask in the background!
(In general, I try to not take pics of others if I can help it, but my friend took this pic... I’m on the left, buying food, per usual)
(In general, I try to not take pics of others if I can help it, but my friend took this pic... I’m on the left, buying food, per usual)
Flash forward to 2020, and the #COVID19 is on the rage.. in the US, some people downplay it, while others protest against having stay-at-home orders and having to wear masks. So my mind went back to how easy it probably was for Japan to react to this pandemic..
I mean, after all, people in Japan already wore masks when feeling even the slightest ill! They all already own reusable masks, and it’s a whole fashion statement for some.
Now, no doubt the countries handled it differently (the US being a disaster at handling the pandemic)...
Now, no doubt the countries handled it differently (the US being a disaster at handling the pandemic)...
But let’s consider the statistics..
As of today:
US population - 328 million
Japan population - 126 million
US deaths by COVID - 125 THOUSAND
Japan deaths by COVID - 971
971!! Less than a thousand!! And the virus hit Japan before it made it to the US! https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality
As of today:
US population - 328 million
Japan population - 126 million
US deaths by COVID - 125 THOUSAND
Japan deaths by COVID - 971
971!! Less than a thousand!! And the virus hit Japan before it made it to the US! https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality
Also, keep in mind that Japan is MUCH more condensed than the US!
Can you imagine how many lives would have been saved if we had implemented masks immediately and without push back?!
And I’m not even saying Japan did everything right. But they wore masks, and it shows.
Can you imagine how many lives would have been saved if we had implemented masks immediately and without push back?!
And I’m not even saying Japan did everything right. But they wore masks, and it shows.
We can only hope that face masks stay a part of US culture beyond this pandemic, though I doubt they will.
But I know I’ll be educating future generations about this one little thing and the impact it can have.
But I know I’ll be educating future generations about this one little thing and the impact it can have.
