COVID-19 has not lost momentum. The naive hope that “once it gets hot it will quiet down like the flu” has not been fulfilled; Tokyo is confirming large numbers of cases day after day.
On the morning commute the mask rate is 100 percent. People leave home separately for work or school, so of course no one talks, and the cars are still. On the way home, though, you sometimes see friends or colleagues speaking loudly and laughing. You cannot help bracing for “droplets....”
At the Palaceside Building we have posted, in many places, notices asking people in elevators to “wear a mask,” “refrain from conversation,” and “keep a distance from other users,” and we appeal for cooperation. In-building announcements repeat the request.
Manners for preventing infection in a small closed space really must be kept. An acquaintance said, “I saw a sign in a Yurakucho building that said ‘Don’t talk!’” (unconfirmed), but we believe “Please refrain from conversation” will be understood in our building. The ride is only a few dozen seconds, so please zip it—“silence is golden.”