Muroran and the Coronavirus

"Hello, Muroran!!"

 I was rereading some of my old posts (89 in 2011! None in 2019!!!!) and it seems that what really gets my fingers all a tapping on the keyboard is the prospect of imminent doom. We had the earthquake in 2011 and now it seems that the four horsemen of the apocalypse have saddled up again are raring to go. I am of course talking about the coronavirus, or COVID 19.
No doubt you are all aware of the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship turned floating virus incubator - I think we all know what not to do should something similar happen again. The Japanese Government have belatedly come to realize that "a problem out of view is a problem solved" and are letting passengers disembark (though in truth the only started doing this after pressure from the US government). Their policy is to only let passengers who have been tested and found not to have the virus to leave the ship. Unfortunately, this approach isn't quite working as a number of passengers who returned to Australia were subsequently retested and found to have the virus.
Last Thursday I was out for a few beers with some of my Japanese colleagues from the university. We have just finished the end of the academic year so the few beers turned into many beers and it was after two a.m. before I staggered home.
But I digress.
From one of my colleagues I learned that 4 people from Muroran had been on the Diamond Princess, they had tested negative for the virus, been allowed disembark and returned back here on Wednesday evening.
We were at that imperceptible stage of the evening when the beer count was heading for double figures and all our ideas were fast becoming great ideas. So, upon learning of the medical crisis potentially affecting Muroran, we had a few moments of calm reflection and decided that the thoughtful, considered response would be to go to our four, fellow citizens' homes and plant burning crosses on their lawns. And then tell them they had until sun-up to leave or we would run them out of town.
Or, as the senior professor suggested, we could just go to karaoke.
We went to karaoke.
And if Muroran becomes a post-apocalyptic wasteland with abandoned streets, empty buildings and a pervading sense of hopelessness, then, well, actually it already is a town with abandoned streets, empty buildings and a pervading sense of hopelessness.
So no change there, then.