Letter to the Editor: Covid lessons we could learn from the Japanese

The transmission rates have been very high in Japan but people have been infected with low viral loads resulting in minimal symptoms. Photo: AP/Koji Sasahara

Scant attention is being paid here to the fact that the number of Covid-19 fatalities in Japan is approximately the same as in Ireland, despite Japan having a population of 127m with an elderly demographic versus our 5m with a younger demographic; their population is thus 25.4 times greater than ours, with many living in densely populated cities.

The transmission rates have been very high in Japan but people have been infected with low viral loads resulting in minimal symptoms. The reasons for this are known and our decision-makers would do well to take note of the following: