Japan’s Covid care package for people in self-isolation wins praise online

A photo of the food parcel - which includes a week’s worth of meals - has gone viral on Reddit

A Covid-19 patient in Tokyo posted a photo of the care package he received from the Tokyo Metropolitan government (Reddit/FriedCheeseCurdz )

A photo of a generous care package sent to someone self-isolating with Covid by Tokyo’s government has won plaudits online and sparked debate on the varying level of support offered by governments during the pandemic.

The photo of a parcel of food was shared by a user on Reddit, where it was widely praised and went viral.

The care package included a week’s worth of meals, including Japanese curry, noodles, coffee, water, packaged fruits, beans, dried soup, instant rice and chips.

“I got tested positive for Covid a couple days ago. Every morning I get a phone call that requires me to update how I am feeling that day in regards to temperature, symptoms, and oxygen levels,” the Reddit user FriedCheeseKurdz wrote.

The government offered him a hotel room to quarantine in but he declined.

“They then asked me if I wanted food to be sent to my house, to which I agreed [it was free].”

People from several countries, including the UK, Germany, Thailand, US and others, responded to the post to criticise their own governments’ responses.

One Reddit user wrote: “I’m sure that helps you not feel so alone in this battle. The United States government has [bungled] this every turn so it is very refreshing to see a country actually taking decisive and beneficial actions!”

Another user lashed out at the UK government.

“Stay home, don’t come out and if you run out of food, tough luck. Absolutely insane,” the user wrote in the comments.

“It’s mind blowing how differently various countries are treating their people during this pandemic, and it really affects the very basic beliefs/knowledge that people have as a community towards the virus. It’s basically completely different realities,” said another comment.

Lucky Tran, a public health and science communication expert, tweeted the Reddit post.

“For those saying ‘there isn’t much more the US government can do,’ look at what someone in Japan gets sent when they test positive for Covid so that they can recover and isolate,” MrTran wrote.

“We need to push our leaders to do more, and stop excusing their inaction,” he added.

Japan adopted some of the strictest border controls in the world when the Omicron variant emerged late last year, banning all new entry by non-Japanese people, including students and foreign family members of Japanese or permanent residents, except in exceptional circumstances.