Japan and South Korea never did full lockdowns. It left lessons on how to coexist with the virus.

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Thu, 2021-10-21 05:47 — mike kraft

Japan and South Korea never did full lockdowns. It left lessons on how to coexist with the virus. For many countries, the goal is balancing life and the coronavirus. Japan and South Korea have been at it for a while. Michelle Lee Washington Post

TOKYO — In Japan, the newly minted prime minister has vowed to create a path into the "post-corona era." South Korea has launched a "living with covid-19" panel of experts.

Like many countries, both are navigating a way to safely coexist with the coronavirus in the face of increasing economic pressures and a potential new wave of infections in the winter.

But unlike many other countries, neither Japan nor South Korea imposed a full lockdown and have been trying to coexist with the virus all along.

They pursued a middle ground — consider it lockdown lite — that relied on the cooperation of citizens already accustomed to mask-wearing and social distancing in response to previous respiratory epidemics. Businesses, more or less, voluntarily closed early to help keep the virus at bay.

The approach hasn’t been perfect, and both countries have faced waves of cases, especially with the delta variant.

With infections ebbing and a majority of the population fully vaccinated, both Japan and South Korea are now easing their limits on social gatherings and exploring vaccine passports and other initiatives to encourage economic activity.

Beginning this week, South Korea will slightly raise its cap on the number of people who can congregate in private from six to eight. Cafes, movie theaters, concert venues and restaurants will be allowed to stay open later than they had been in recent months as officials clamped down when cases began spiking in July. ...

In Tokyo, life is returning to normal after nearly six months of a coronavirus “state of emergency” status. There was no widespread lockdown, and the designation was largely a suggestion. Still, some businesses shuttered early as a result. Residents strictly wore masks, kept distance, sanitized their hands and willingly got their temperature checked when asked.

Now, those bars and restaurants are staying open late into the night. The infamous five-way Shibuya crossing is once again filled with huge crowds of people.

After peaking in late July and early August, especially due to the delta variant, positive cases have plummeted. And now, the government is gradually expanding services to encourage people to travel and spend money. ...

Kenji Shibuya, epidemiology expert and the research director at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, said the decrease in cases showed him that the virus may be moving in a cyclical pattern of a roughly two-month period of peaking and ebbing.

“In terms of lockdown or state of emergency or draconian measures, it’s quite different by cultures. Compared to the U.K. or European countries, East Asia, particularly, they are very strict about wearing masks and social distancing,” Shibuya said. “Season factor, human factor and viral factor: I think that seems to be a very complicated interactional role.” ...

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