Toyota factories in Japan and Coronavirus

you're assuming that if we didn't shut down, millions wouldn't die

 

Or the economy wouldn't take a hit with just all those people getting sick.

Even Japan is going to suffer some harm as they are reliant on many things coming from outside their country.

As for our government actions, shutting down was the best they could do with our situation. Discussion beyond that is for another section of Priuschat.

 

Millions? BS Unless you have an underlying health condition, you have little to fear. This virus is not very lethal.


iPhone ? Pro

 

we have a lot of people with diabetes, cancer and trwatments, copd, and many more conditions living a normal life for now

 

US population is 327 million.
According to WHO, COVID 19 has a 1.4% mortality rate.
Without any intervention, 70% of the population can be infected, easily.
That would be 3.2 million dead.
Accounting for the health of the typical American, and the real possibility of the medical infrastructure being overwhelmed, I'd say it would be higher.

 

1.4% doesn't sound like much to worry about, unless one is in a higher risk category, where the mortality rate can be more like 20%. Simply being over 60 or 70 all by itself, with no particular health issues, dramatically raises the mortality rate. They haven't figured out exactly why this is; it may have something to do with the normal diminished lung capacity as one ages (so you have less reserve to deal with lung damage), or the immune system going wacko and attacking organs where the virus isn't even present.

(Speaking as one in this risk category, so it is not just academic.)

 

Toyota has issued two more statements about their plants in Japan:

Statement on Reported COVID-19 Infection at Toyota Work Site in Japan (as of March 22) (also in Japanese): A second employee has tested positive for COVID-19, and Takaoka Line 1 will be shut down March 23–25.

Regarding Japan domestic production (as of March 23) (also in Japanese): Several other lines, including Tsutsumi 1 and 2 (which make Prius cars) will be shut down for a few days in April, due to low demand.

 

Toyota’s Ordering Schedule chart for fleet customers shows that vehicles for which orders were entered by February 10, 2020 would generally be produced in April for June delivery. (The earlier delivery dates in the chart are for situations where an already-built vehicle can be redirected to fill the order.)

I’d be less concerned about brief line shutdowns—which presumably affect vehicles that would have been built for stock, rather than those ordered by customers—than about changes in sailing schedules for car carriers, slow steaming, or delays at marine terminals and vehicle processing centers in the United States.

Auto repair and maintenance facilities are recognized as critical infrastructure, but production and distribution of new cars and light trucks may not get the same consideration, especially if slowdowns in sales leave dealers in most areas with enough unsold inventory to handle the limited public demand.

 

I can tell you why Japan is doing so good. My son married a Japanese girl here years ago and they go over to Tokyo every year. They got back from holiday in January. The Japanese very adamant about wearing mask and gloves when any virus hits the news. I live in Utah, and when you go into a grocery store here, you’re lucky to see one or two people wearing a mask, and no one is wearing gloves. They take it real serious over in Japan

 

japanese olympics postponed until 2021

 

I saw a news conference where the Surgeon General said masks don't work. He explained fit issues and touching the mask often because they're uncomfortable, then touching your nose, eyes, mouth. I saw something from where I work saying that they do work. There's a shortage of masks and they need to go to healthcare workers now. That said, I've got a box of 15 N95 masks that I bought during the California wildfires because the air quality was so bad. I'm trying to stay out of stores and restaurants whenever possible.

 

It's not why they wear masks. Well, to be more correct, more wear masks due to news, but as a society they do it regardless.

 

Nope don’t wear a mask or gloves. I figure I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of my face adjusting the mask all the time. I just practice some rather severe self control and be mindful of touching my face and cleaning after I get back in my car. Keep a pocketful of sanitary wipes for the car (steering wheel and controls, door handles - outside and inside, seat belt buckle, shifter, the screen & surrounding buttons and of course the mode and power button) for after I get done shopping. Then it’s more wiping the groceries and the reusable bags and finally washing my hands.

Typically what I do every every flu season. Weird it’s now in style.

I have noticed that there is a lot fewer people sneezing, coughing, hacking and and otherwise shopping while obviously sick. Maybe this is working with the ever present colds and flu.


iPad ? Pro

 

A status from Denmark. The delivery date was May 15th when I ordered a Toyota Prius PHEV H4 (Danish equivalent of a Prime Premium) back in the beginning of February. The car will be produced in Japan according to my local dealer. The dealer just informed me that the scheduled delivery date is now set to July 16th in the ordering system due to Corona.

 

Why do you guys get a custom order from Japan? There are plenty of Prius Primes in the lots here in New England and with Covid-19 they are certainly not moving and dealers are desperate to find a buyer. Did you order something special?

The problem with N95 is that they protect you but others not so much because they have an exhale valve. Most of those (false) arguments that were spread by authorities against masks were to discourage regular people from buying N95s, which may have limited the number available to the health system. But even simple masks help from an epidemiological perspective as they reduce the distance that your breath's aerosols spread. So if you are an asymptomatic carrier, you are less likely to become a 'super spreader'.