Photo/Illutration Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, second from right, checks anti-virus measures at a restaurant in April in the capital’s Shinjuku Ward. (Pool)

"Tachimono" is an age-old Japanese custom of making a wish to the gods and Buddha by giving up a certain food item or beverage until the wish comes true, such as being cured of an illness.

Common objects of abstention included tea, salt and pears.

The "COVID-19 lifestyle" of having to forgo alcohol when eating out has felt a bit like harking back to that tradition.

It wasn't done to seek divine intercession, of course. There were scientific grounds, we were told, for the need to protect ourselves from droplets that flew when people got drunk, loud and careless.

With the lifting of the COVID-19 state of emergency declaration and pre-emergency measures on Sept. 30, alcohol service resumes on Oct. 1 at restaurants and bars around the nation. I imagine some people have made reservations right away for their long-overdue drinking parties.

This owes to the rapid decline in new cases of infection, but we have hardly heard sufficient scientific explanations. For example, we don't even know how much impact the recent progress in mass inoculations has had.

If the decline has been caused by people just acting with greater caution in view of the overstressed health care system, or if seasonal factors are at play, we are definitely not out of danger yet.

Speaking of science, new data is emerging from the analysis of how the virus is transmitted. The prevalent understanding until now has been that droplets were the most prominent source of contagion.

But according to a recent newspaper report, experts are now looking more closely at airborne contagion.

One theory even suggests that the installation of acrylic panels to block droplets actually impedes the flow of air. This is unnerving.

Perhaps the surest safeguard is thorough ventilation. Some eating establishments are said to be using carbon dioxide monitors to indicate the state of ventilation.

Customers can also help by opening windows as needed.

The pandemic has forced us to abstain from many things--travel, events such as concerts and so on.

When the restrictions are removed, proceeding slowly and gingerly is the way to go.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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