The Impact of COVID-19 on Japan's Tourism Industry
Many countries are affected by COVID-19, this story map allows you to see the insight of the tourism industry in Japan
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Introduction to COVID-19 and Tourism
OVERVIEW OF COVID-19
COVID-19 also known as the coronavirus, the virus was found at the end of 2019 and it became viral at the beginning of 2020. “COVID” stands for Corona Virus Disease and 19 for the year of discovery. The virus rapidly spread around the world causing a global crisis. As of November 03, 2020, there were 47.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1.2 million deaths since the first case reported to WHO (World Health Organization) by China (Pettersson, Manley, & Hernandez, 2020). There were over 500,000 confirmed cases on October 30, 2020, worldwide. The number of new cases is increasing every day, the WHO suggested that people should stay home and don’t go out unless it is necessary. The world economy has drastically declined; many businesses have filed bankruptcy. Even though businesses are slowly opening again but customers and employees still need to wear PPEs and keep their social distance.
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Figure 1 - Number of Coronaviruses cases worldwide from January 2020 to October 2020 (Statista, 2020)
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE GLOBAL TOURISM
Epidemics and pandemics are two of the most terrifying news for tourists and tourism businesses (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020). The outbreak of COVID-19 caused many negative impacts on global tourism. Many events and festivals were cancelled due to the virus. Everyone was recommended to stay at home and quarantined, many flights especially international flights were cancelled because international passengers play a serious role in transferring the virus between locations (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020). Cities were in pandemic lockdown; many national borders were also closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many domestic and international flights were cancelled which caused many airlines to lay off thousands of staff (Sainato, 2020). The study had examined the world’s largest travel platform’s forum (Trip Advisor) (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020). Between December 30, 2019 to March 15, 2020, most of the comments in the Trip Advisor forums contained the following keywords, coronavirus, corona-virus, and COVID (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020). This shows that the tourism sector is very easily disrupted by global crises (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020). In the below picture from WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council), it is shown that there were 142.6 million jobs lost in the tourism and travel industry (WTTC, 2020). The Travel & Tourism GDP loss in 2020 was USD 3,815 billion, if there is no improvement, it is estimated that will lead to USD 4,711 billion GDP loss (WTTC, 2020). The global arrivals' assumptions had also gone down 65% internationally and with no improvement, it will continue to decline internationally and domestically (WTTC, 2020).
This picture is from WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council), it is shown that there were 142.6 million jobs lost in the tourism and travel industry (WTTC, 2020). The Travel & Tourism GDP loss in 2020 was USD 3,815 billion, if there is no improvement, it is estimated that will lead to USD 4,711 billion GDP loss (WTTC, 2020). The global arrivals' assumptions had also gone down 65% internationally and with no improvement, it will continue to decline internationally and domestically (WTTC, 2020).
Figure 2: The Economic Impact from COVID-19 (Source: WTTC, 2020)
Numerous of public and private organizations such schools, restaurants, hotels, convention centres, attractions, etc. have been temporarily closed (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020), this does not just affect global tourism, but the global economy as well. Many entrepreneurs were unable to support their businesses and declared bankruptcies. Many well-known brands such as J. Crew, JCPenny, etc. have filed for bankruptcies because they were unable to support their businesses (Pandise, 2020). In general, the outbreak of COVID-19 had impacted everything in the world. Another negative part of the pandemic is that travellers would be worried and anxious about travelling again even after the crisis has ended. Since they were affected by the environment of fear and insecurity for a long time during the pandemic, it may be hard to change their behaviour about travelling. Global crises like this will further damage the tourism industry’s recovery time.
Importance of Tourism to Japan before the outbreak of COVID-19
As the tourism industry becoming an international trend, Japan is now particularly focused on its tourism industry (Nozawa, 2016). The tourism industry is on the verge of becoming a major economic engine in Japan. Japan is known for its beautiful sceneries such as Mt. Fuji, Izumo Taisha, Sensō-Ji, etc. there are plenty of international and domestic visitors travelling to Japan because of these famous attractions. As shown in the graph, Japan’s tourists’ number increases every year. There were over 31.8 million international visitors in 2019 (Japan National Tourism Organization, 2020).
Figure 3 - Overseas Residents' Visits to Japan by year (Source: JNTO)
One of the reasons being hosting the Rugby World Cup 2019. On July 28, 2009, Japan won the right to host the Rugby World Cup 2019 tournament (Cushnan, 2009). The Rugby World Cup began on September 20 and ended on November 02, 2019. Japan had an increase of 29.4% of tourists from countries that participated in the 2019 Rugby World Cup (The Japan News, 2019). The highest peak of flight bookings was on the day before the tournament begin (Karantzavelou, 2019). On the graph below, we can see that the arrivals from September 12 to November 06, 2019, have gone increase drastically due to the tournament (Karantzavelou, 2019).
Figure 4 - Weekly Bookings from September 12 to November 06, 2019 (Source: ForwardKeys, 2019)
As a developing country, Japan hosted many big tournaments and games in history. Japan had hosted the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. They also hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2019. They will also be holding the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. All of these mega-sport events will bring many positive economic impacts such as improving transport infrastructure, gaining a positive image of Japan overseas, providing many full-time and part-time jobs, etc. Japan’s former prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, once said, “Tourism is the frontier for Japan,” back in 2012.
Figure 5 - 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (Source: Yoshida, 2011)
From the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, we can see how important the tourism industry was to Japan’s economy. The tourists’ number of Japan went down 62% in April and 50% in May (BBC News, 2011). Leading a drop of 0.9% in the first quarter of Japan’s GDP (Werden, 2011). There were approximately 390,000 wholesale and retail workers lost their jobs due to the earthquake (Express, 2011). In April 2011, there were also 30,000 workers in the hotel and restaurant sectors lost their jobs because of the crisis (Express, 2011). After the crisis, Japan tried its best to promote its tourism industry and hope it will help to increase their economies. International tourists contributed over JPY 2.6 trillion (from January to September 2015) which has surpassed the full-year level of 2014 and is expected to exceed JPY 3 trillion in 2015 (OECD, 2016). International tourism is recognized as an essential factor in Japanese economic growth. From the facts above, the tourism industry will continue to play an important role in economic revitalization at the national and local levels.
Overviews of Impact of COVID-19 on tourism in Japan
The outbreak of COVID-19 was so sudden and fast, countless events/games were cancelled due to COVID-19. The COVID-19 was said to be the worst crisis after World War II (Lederer, 2020), with millions of deaths, countless people losing their jobs, businesses going bankruptcies, and many other negative impacts. Japan is the world's third-largest travel and tourism economy (BBC News, 2011), and as the hosting country of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, the impacts of COVID-19 on the Japanese tourism industry is immeasurable.
According to the WTTC’s Asia-Pacific Recovery Forecast Plan, there are 87.4 million jobs lost in 2020 due to COVID-19, and if there is no improvement, it will lead to 106.7 million jobs lost in Travel and Tourism (WTTC, 2020). The coronavirus has already impacted $1.475 billion in Travel and Tourism GDP loss, with no improvement there will be a $1,801 billion loss in Travel and Tourism GDP (WTTC, 2020). The international arrivals had also dropped 71% because of the virus, and it will drop to 82% if there is no sign of recovery of COVID-19 (WTTC, 2020).
Figure 6 - Asia-Pacific Forecast Recovery Plan (Source: WTTC, 2020)
Hosting mega-sport events such as the Olympics will gain many positive economic, social, and environmental impacts. It improves the countries’ transportation infrastructure, communities, declines the unemployment rate, gains a better reputation for the country, etc. Japan was the first Asia country to host an Olympics Games back in 1964 (IOC, 2020). The 1964 Tokyo Olympics was a big game-changer for Japan, its steady Japan’s global stage (Martin, 2013) and create a new global identity for the country. On September 07, 2013, the IOC (International Olympics Committee) announced that Tokyo had beaten the fellow finalists Istanbul, Turkey, and Spain, and will be hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics (Grant, 2013). It is estimated that Japan will benefit approximately JPY 32 trillion in the Olympics from 2013 to 2030 (Statista, 2019).
Figure 7 - Estimated Economic Impact of Tokyo 2020 Olympics from 2013 to 2030 in Japan (Source: Statista, 2019)
With the pre-existing infrastructures and transportation from the previous Olympics, Japan will only benefit from hosting the 2020 Olympics (Moore, 2019). “The Japanese government has recently set a goal of welcoming 40 million tourists from abroad and generating 8 trillion yen in related consumer spending by 2020” (Nozawa, 2016). On March 24, 2020, the IOC and the Japanese government have announced that the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will be postponed to 2021 Summer (IOC, 2020). This was the first time in Olympics history that they are postponing a game (IOC, 2020). This was devastating news to all of Japan’s businesses and residents, COVID-19 had already made millions of people losing their jobs. They were hoping that the Olympics will help them through these difficulties, but now the game is being postponed; they are all worried about Japan’s economic losses. Instead of bringing positive economic impacts, the delay of the Olympics has now caused Japan about $6 billion in economic losses (Imahashi & Regalado, 2020). Even though the IOC says they will do their best to help and support the Japanese government, but there is no detailed information about their plan, and many are worried about the situation.
Video 1 - Tokyo 2020: Japan goes wild after getting Summer Olympics
The tourism industries around the world collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese government hasn’t seen such a big decline in its tourism industry after the tsunami in 2011 (Bloomberg, 2020). There were approximately 2.60 million tourists travelled to Japan in February 2019 (Bloomberg, 2020). The outbreak of COVID-19, made the tourists coming to Japan declined 58% to 1.09 million (Bloomberg, 2020). There is an estimated incline of JPY 240 billion ($2.3 billion) from event-related tourism for Japan in 2020, but this would all evaporate if the Olympics were cancelled (Leussink & Yamazaki, 2020), although the IOC and the Japanese government have decided that will be postponed to 2021. There are always uncertainty and the IOC also mentioned that Japan could not manage a postponement beyond next summer (Kyodo News, 2020).
Frequently Asked Questions about the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Olympic News
Figure 8 - "Empty attraction" of Gion, Kyoto (Source: CNN, 2020)
The picture of the left is one of the "empty attractions" of Kyoto. They launched an "empty attraction" campaign to try to pull tourists back (Jozuka, 2020). Last year, Japan accommodated 31.9 million foreign visitors, who spent JPY 4.81 trillion (Leussink & Yamazaki, 2020). About 9.5 million of these tourists are from China (Leussink & Yamazaki, 2020), and with the outbreak of COVID-19, this would put the Japanese tourism industry at risk. Mt. Fuji is one of the popular attractions in Shizuoka, Japan. The Chinese tourists account for 70% of Japan’s foreign tourists in Shizuoka. According to the Shizuoka local tourism association, the outbreak of COVID-19 had caused approximately 90,000 people, mostly Chinese tourists, to have cancelled hotel bookings for the first three months of 2020. With hundreds and thousands of new COVID-19 cases confirmed each day, Japan’s tourism industry has never been worse. A concise crisis management plan would help the Japanese governments, residents, and businesses to overcome this pandemic.
Tourism industry response to COVID-19 in Japan
Tourism plays an important role in the Japanese economy, with the outbreak of COVID-19, food and beverage places are closed, airlines are cancelling flights due to closed border, attractions are also closed, etc. Pandemic is one of the most horrifying news for visitors and tourism operators (Uğur & Akbiyik, 2020). The following Japanese tourism sub-sectors are impacted by COVID-19, and they are currently trying to recover from the crisis.
THE AIRLINES SECTOR:
Japan has many of the world’s top airlines, ANA Airlines, JAL Airlines, etc. They provide a COVID-19 information section on their official website to help their customers through this difficult time. The following video is from JAL Airlines about “How JAL Fly Safe”. In the video, they explained that to prevent the spread of COVID-19, all of their staff are required to wear face masks and there are partition windows installed at customer touch-points (Japan Airlines, 2020). They are also sanitizing frequently touched surfaces consistently, they also set up hand sanitizing stations for all the guests, thermal camera screening is prepared as well in the airport (Japan Airlines, 2020).
Video 2 - Japan Airlines FlySafe: Your Safety, Our Priority
Their website has all the detailed information and it is easy to access, it is important for the customers to feel they are being taken care of. It is expected that JAL Airlines will have a net loss of over JPY 240 billion due to COVID-19 (Kyodo & Jiji, 2020). To reduce the cost of fuel, JAL Airlines decided to use some of their raised funds to substitute Boeing 777s with more fuel-efficient Airbus 350s (Kyodo & Jiji, 2020). Japan Airlines is offering discounted coronavirus tests to customers and to those who have a negative coronavirus test, they will also receive an additional discount of JPY 5,500 (KYODO News, 2020). It is a great way to promote their business, keeping their customers safe and providing a benefit to the customers.
ANA (All Nippon Airways) Airlines ranked 3rd in Skytrax Survey 2019 (Japan Data, 2019). ANA Airlines is seeking to have its workers' layoffs voluntary and cutting 30% of their pays (Reuters, 2020). Big airlines companies like ANA Airlines and JAL Airlines are struggling to ride out the pandemic, many of the smaller airlines are filing bankruptcies and leading many workers being layoff. It was said ANA Airlines has approximately 46,000 employees in March 2020 (Reuters, 2020). They are planning to reduce the 3,500 of their employees by fiscal 2022 to survive through the coronavirus (Reuters, 2020). ANA Airlines has invented a new way to promote their company, they offer a scenic flight (A380) to nowhere, the flight is for ANA Facebook group (ANA Mileage Club members) (Curran, 2020). This is great marketing towards the company, and it is an interesting angle for airlines to follow. Their first scenic flight was overbooked, so they’ve come up with another one (Curran, 2020). They are also using one of their eye-catching flights (Curran, 2020), which will be another selling point. As the national border is stricter than usual, they should promote domestic flights, it protects the health of everyone (staff, customers, etc.) and it supports the containment of the virus.
The following video is ANA Airlines' first scenic flight in August 2020. The outcome of the first scenic flight was so successful, they've decided to schedule another scenic flight on November 2020.
Video 3 - ANA Airlines' first sightseeing flight - Flying HONU
Many airlines can refund plane tickets from June 2020 to January 2021, they are providing full refunds and customers can reschedule their flights without charges. By providing extraordinary services, it will give the consumer a good reputation about how companies managing through the pandemic.
THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SECTOR:
Figure 9 - Takeout ramen with a gelatinous broth that turns liquid when it heats up in microwave (Source: Maruyama, 2020)
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Japanese government declared a state of emergency on April 07, 2020 (Martins, 2020). Bars and restaurants are to reduce their operating hours, the takeout food demand has increased due to this reason (Maruyama, 2020). Ramen as one of the most popular dishes in Japan many Japanese eat ramen few times a week (Maruyama, 2020). Many restaurants have been having difficulties to offer ramen as takeout. The noodles get soggy and broth may spill while in transit, which why not many people order ramen for their takeout. Kura Sushi, a sushi bar chain operator had found a solution to spilling broths in takeout transits (Maruyama, 2020). They established a gelatinous broth that turns into a liquid when it is heated up in microwaves (Maruyama, 2020). Many businesses are inventing new dishes to satisfy their customers, and the above is an example.Izayaka is a pub that offers a variety of food and drink and caters to large groups of people with a friendly, cheerful, and welcome atmosphere (Morais, 2017). Japanese have a culture of meeting up at an Izayaka pub with co-workers after work, where they can revitalize and unwind together (Morais, 2017). COVID-19 restrictions had led to many restaurants and bars coming up with creative thoughts that can protect their customers from the virus while supporting their businesses (Horisawa & Kubota, 2020). “Ikitsuke virtual bar” is a service that offers customers to meet online instead of in-person (Horisawa & Kubota, 2020). Customers can video-call each other while ordering appetizers from Izakaya and have the food delivered in advance to participants’ homes so that they can share the same food (Horisawa & Kubota, 2020). One of the benefits of virtual bars is that participants (customers) can each other from all over the country (Horisawa & Kubota, 2020). The virtual restaurant is a great idea for people to feel connected again, there are more and more bars and restaurants pursuing this technique in their food and beverage industry.
Figure 10 - Group of people using the "virtual bar" service (Source: Horisawa & Kubota, 2020)
THE ATTRACTION SECTOR
The peak of COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific area was around March to April, so many of the attractions were closed (JNTO, 2020). Many of the attractions are now reopened and trying to attract new tourists. There are many new restrictions regarding reopening attractions, many attractions are taking new approaches toward businesses.
The Jigokudani Monkey Park is a nature preserve in Yamanouchi, Japan. They are offering live streams for the tourists/visitors; it allows their tourists to take a look at the beautiful nature park and their famous wild snow monkeys (Voyagin, 2020). Even though it is a different experience in person and at home, but it is a great marketing strategy during the coronavirus. There are also many other zoos and aquarium approaching this strategy to their attractions.
Video 4: [360°VR] JAPAN - Where tradition meets the future | JNTO
Another approach that the attractions are considering is Virtual Reality (VR) Tours (Jr, 2020). VR has been known for a while now, the outbreak of COVID-19 have made it popular again, tourists can see the beautiful sceneries at home, this will prevent the spread of COVID-19. Tourism analyst, Ralph Hollister stated that there is higher change VR becoming an alternative form of travel, if the pandemic goes on (Jr, 2020). Region X (times) Tokyo Virtual Tours are a great way for tourists to take a look at the changing landscapes of the region (Voyagin, 2020). Tourists can experience the four seasons of the region. They offer VR tours for several Tokyo Regions, such as the Chugoku + Shikoku X Tokyo, Kyushu X Tokyo, and Hokuriku X Tokyo (Voyagin, 2020).
Your adventures don’t have to stop when you are stuck at home, many attractions in Japan offers VR on their official sites, tourists may view the popular cherry blossom spot in VR from Ueno Park to Hirosaki Park (Thomas, 2020). One of the good things about VR is it allows tourists to be different places within a few seconds. The attractions in Japan are trying new approaches toward attracting tourists, they are also getting funds from the governments to help them through the difficulties. They are more toward and focused on promoting domestic tourists since many of the international flights are cancelled.
Government response to COVID-19 in Japan
GO TO TRAVEL CAMPAIGN
The Japanese government has taken many actions in responding to COVID-19. The Japanese government launched the “Go To Travel” campaign on July 22, 2020 (Japan Guide, 2020). The government providing half of the costs of the travellers are travelling inside of Japan. Each tourist is able to get a subsidy of up to JPY 13,000 discount and JPY 7,000 coupons per day if it is an overnight trip (Japan Guide, 2020). One-day round trip tourists can subsidize JPY 7,000 discount and JPY 3,000 coupons per person and day (Japan Guide, 2020). All residents of Japan, including foreign residents, are eligible for this campaign (Japan Guide, 2020). The campaign is set to last until January 31, 2021; however, there is a possibility that it may be extended (Japan Guide, 2020). Another advantage of the campaign is that there is no limit on how many trips you can make through the campaign phase (Japan Guide, 2020).
Video 4 - Japan Travel Now Paid by Japanese Government
JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES
Many of the small and medium-sized businesses are experiencing difficulties due to COVID-19, the Japanese government has decided to use a public and private sector fund to financially support those businesses (Schilling, 2020). The government is planning to put as much as JPY 1 trillion to companies that are qualified for the fund starting by the middle of May 2020 (Schilling, 2020). The government is hoping that these funds get companies to survive on bank financing and recover once the virus is gone (Schilling, 2020). The government is also proving a cash grant of up to JPY 2 million to companies that declined 50% or more in year-on-year monthly income (Nagumo, 2020). Many are complaining the cash grant is too little for them to support their businesses (Nagumo, 2020). Many business owners predict that the coronavirus is far from over, and they are worried and short of funds (Nagumo, 2020). Instead of proving such a large fund into domestic tourism, the Japanese government should provide more funds toward small companies that are suffering from COVID-19. Millions of residents lose their jobs, and thousands of businesses are closing down, people don’t have the money to even support themselves.
EMERGENCY ECONOMIC PACKAGE
On April 07, 2020, the Japanese government announced the “Emergency Economic Package,” this package amounted to JPY 117 trillion to encourage the continuation of employment and business in all tourism industry, and also other industries (OECD, 2020). A new grant of over USD 10 billion will be used to help and support Japan’s tourism, transport, food and beverage, and even businesses to create an immediate post-pandemic recovery in the method of discounts and coupons (OECD, 2020). Tourism is a great tool for Japan to seek support for the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Japan Tourism Agency had decided to spend USD 2.2 billion to attract tourists immediately after the pandemic ends (OECD, 2020). They are hoping this fund can help to attract international tourists, improving the travel environment, and make tourist destinations more appealing (OECD, 2020).
Survey shown that over 57% of Japan's residents are unhappy with the pandemic response (Jiji, 2020). Many finds that the government responses are not helping businesses to get through the pandemic (Jiji, 2020). Hope the Japanese government would take considerations of residents' opinions and hoping more residents and businesses would be satisfied with the responses.
Japanese least satisfied with aid to firms amid pandemic, survey finds (Source: The Japan Times, 2020)
Examples of Best Practices of Industry and Government response from Japan
EMPLOYMENT ADJUSTMENT SUSIDIES PROGRAM
Japan’s MHLW (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) decided to the expansion of the employment adjustment subsidies program and ease its eligible criteria (KPMG, 2020). This subsides program is effective from April 1 to December 31, 2020 (KPMG, 2020). It provides a maximum of 100% leave allowance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a maximum of 80% leave allowance for larger companies (KPMG, 2020). As for the employee, they can each get JPY 15,000 per day on the leave (KPMG, 2020). The Japanese government is hoping the subsides program can support employees and employers who are suffering from COVID-19 (KPMG, 2020). This employment adjustment subsidies program will allow the employers to support their employees through the COVID-19 era, instead of firing them (KPMG, 2020).
HOUSEHOLD FUNDS
The Japanese government is trying its best to protect employments, businesses, residents through this difficult time. As for households, the government of Japan decided to add an additional JPY 10,000 per child for child allowance (KPMG, 2020). They are also enhancing rent for low-income families, there is also cash payment to all residents in Japan, etc. (KPMG, 2020). As the whole world is experiencing a shortage of disposable masks, the government of Japan is to provide two masks with each to roughly 50 million households to fight COVID-19 (Kyodo, 2020). This is a part of the Emergency Economic Package that the Japanese government is offering to its residents.
INDIVIDUAL HEALTH CODE
Figure 11 - City-Cost Japan, 2020
On Friday, July 3, 2020, the Japan Ministry of Health declared that they have now begun their individual health codes for people who are infected with the coronavirus (Jiji, 2020). Those who are tested positive will have an individual health code with a contact-tracing smartphone app (Jiji, 2020). The smartphone app will be able to trace down those who tested positive and informed those who possibly made close contact with them (Jiji, 2020). What possibly made close contact mean is people who spent at least 15 minutes within a meter with the infected patient within the previous 14 days will receive a notification from the app (Jiji, 2020). The Japan Ministry of Health specified that the data on the app is encrypted, this ensures others cannot identify the patients (Jiji, 2020). This will further prevent the increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan.
These are some of the best practices of industries and government response from Japan, they have covered from low-income households, SMEs businesses, to children, and large enterprises. There is still plenty for the industries and government to do to recover from COVID-19. We are hoping to see economic growth after COVID-19 is gone.
Recommendations as to how tourism can ‘Build Back Better’
As for recommendations to how tourism can ‘Build Back Better’ in Japan, many are aware that because of the outbreak of COVID-19, many businesses are creating remote and digital models to support their businesses (Japan Survey, 2020). The benefit of this will allow consumers to access it easily while protecting them from the virus. The disadvantage with the remote and digital models would be hard to use with elders. Many elderlies do not own a smartphone, and Japan’s Ministry of Health just discovered the COCOA (COVID-19 tracing app) in the summer. Elderlies may have difficulties accessing the app and some recommendations to improve this would be providing health wristband to elders who do not have smart devices. Hong Kong is using these electronic bracelets and phones to report your location if the person strays too far from quarantine (AFP-JIJI, 2020). It also tracked where the person has been, the device must be worn for passengers who landed in Hong Kong (AFP-JIJI, 2020). This would be useful for elders who do not own any smart devices. It will alert them when they are having been in close contact with someone that was infected by COVID-19. There is new data showing coronavirus is most deadly to older and male (Mallapaty, 2020). If the elder was infected, the government can track down where he/she has been throughout the day (in case they do not remember) and it will reduce the risk of others getting infected.
Figure 12 - Key dimensions for Building Back Better (Source: OECD, 2020)
The increase of human activities leads to deforestation, increased demand for and trafficking wildlife, declines in local environmental quality such as air and water pollution will all increase the risk of future zoonotic viruses (OECD, 2020). To reduce the risk of viruses, the government should implement and promote a sustainable development plan for the country. Residents and businesses need to be aware of how to prevent viruses like coronavirus in the future. Well-being, inclusiveness, and reduction of inequality will help to improve public support (OECD, 2020). Governments and residents are to work together so the country’s economy and environment can ‘Build Back Better’.
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Photos and Videos Source
The photo and video sources are all in order of display
Cover photo: https://wallpaperaccess.com/japan-scener y
Figure 2 and Figure 6: https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact/Recovery-Scenarios
Figure 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudOR8--77c