2020-1-31
A little while ago, while searching for information about the WHO’s emergency declaration, I came across the following article in PRESIDENT Online.
This article, too, contained passages that revealed the reality of China.
A country seeking to become a hegemonic power while retaining a system of one-party Communist dictatorship that none of the advanced nations would accept.
A country that, for more than twenty years, has continued to subject its people to air pollution so severe that the environment is scarcely fit for human habitation, while spending enormous sums on military expansion, including nuclear weapons.
This is the reality of a country that, while continuing to receive large amounts of ODA from Japan every year until only yesterday, has sought global hegemony by using money to win over impoverished Africa and Asia.
The emphasis in the text, other than the headings, is mine.
There Is No Need to Panic at the Spread of Infection in Mainland China
Its true nature is gradually becoming clear.
I am referring to the “Wuhan coronavirus,” the pathogen responsible for the novel pneumonia now at issue.
Since around the middle of December last year, cases of infection have emerged one after another in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and since then, the number of infected people in mainland China has continued to rise, centered on that city; as of January 31, the number of infected people worldwide is about to exceed 10,000.
The number of infections has surpassed that of SARS, which spread in 2002–03 (approximately 8,000 people), and the death toll has exceeded 200.
The infection has spread to more than twenty countries and regions, and cases have also appeared in Japan.
However, there is no need to panic over this spread of infection.
There have been zero deaths in Japan or in countries and regions outside mainland China.
It is precisely because China’s medical facilities and healthcare system are inadequate that the infection has spread to such an extent and, as a result, the number of deaths is increasing.
Indeed, footage arriving from China via social media shows that hospitals in Wuhan cannot even carry out “triage,” the process of determining the order of treatment according to the severity of patients’ conditions.
There was also footage of a medical worker agitatedly pleading, “I have a fever, but I cannot get examined.”
The hospitals are in a state of panic and have become dysfunctional.
On January 30, WHO (World Health Organization) Director-General Tedros declared a “public health emergency of international concern” at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Middle portion omitted.
A Spread of Infection Like China’s Cannot Occur in Japan
Taking these facts into account, it becomes clear that there is no need to fear the novel coronavirus excessively.
Although there is no specific cure or vaccine, this is a disease that can be adequately managed with symptomatic treatment.
Frankly, most of Japan’s media are making far too much of a fuss.
The uproar makes it seem as though a pathogen with a high fatality rate, such as the Ebola virus, has become airborne and descended upon humanity.
What matters here is to understand the facts accurately and respond calmly.
In a word, a spread of infection like China’s cannot occur in Japan, where medical care is well developed.
However, I would like you to pay attention to the following two points.
The first concerns the “incubation period.”
The novel coronavirus is believed to have an incubation period of between one and fourteen days from infection to the onset of symptoms.
There is a risk of infecting others during this incubation period.
Furthermore, the existence of asymptomatic carriers, who become infected but do not develop symptoms, has also been pointed out.
In such cases, because infected people have no subjective symptoms, there is a risk that they will move about actively and spread the infection.
The second concerns “people with vulnerable health.”
Although most symptoms of the novel coronavirus are mild, people with vulnerable health, such as those with underlying conditions like heart disease and older people, are at risk of developing severe symptoms.
If there are such people with vulnerable health around you, particular care is necessary.
Remainder omitted.