Got a family member who despite being very dedicated in their efforts and following all precautions got it. Nothing too crazy but it has progressed into a bad cold and he’s lost his voice from coughing etc.
What seems ridiculous to me is how much nobody seemed to care until it became a suspicion/possibility it could be THE virus. For about a week the guy was full of mucus, coughing, sneezing, tissues etc the works. Everyone acted as if it was just another day and he was expected to work, attend family gatherings, etc. Just pop on a masks, take 2 or 3 useless kampou concoctions and disregard, because test came back negative.
Eventually he develops a fever and gets a more thorough test at the suggestion of the doc because he believes symptomology indicates likely it will be coron. Waiting back on result but its a complete 180 since then. Now its suddenly this big f’ing deal that the guy is sick and everyone, specifically my MIL complains how やばい the situation is if it “turns out to be that”. Basically they seem to insinuate as if catching the thing brings some sort of shame on the family and its almost like some sort of scarlet letter, while if it were a bad cold or flu (what everyone imagined it was), well that’s just parf or the course, who cares?
My spouse even states that it’d be problematic for the family not because they are afraid it could be more negative healthwise or could spread more easily, but because then it would look bad to our coworkers and clients at our company.
Opinion alert but this further cements my belief that at this point most of the precautions are just another form of fitting in/tatemae and its no longer about public/community/personal health, if it even was for some people. Its more about not being the butt of some obasan’s gossip. Its silly; its great that there’s actually precautions here but it be nice if people weren’t treated as if they were wrong or something for catching a virus.
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We’re they fully vaccinated?
They freak out for the same reason they wear masks and do many other things… because everyone else is doing it.
It’s just another facet of the toxic social culture here.
In my wife’s hometown one of the first families the catch covid-19 or possibly the first known case in the area, were bullied so badly they had to move away.