A message from Governor Tasso
during a 29th meeting of the Iwate Prefecture COVID-19 Countermeasures HQ (March 8, 2021)

【Vietnam/Tiếng Việt（PDF）】　【Spanish/español（PDF）】

The state of emergency declared by the national government was extended to March 21, 2021 for Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, and Kanagawa Prefectures.

I would like to ask everyone again to please refrain from traveling to areas listed under the state of emergency for non-essential and non-urgent reasons (ex. going home or leisure travel) to prevent the further spread of the virus.
I also ask that you exercise special caution in traveling to and from areas with a large spread of infections or to areas that have officially made requests to stay indoors.

As for Iwate, in the most recent week (as of March 8, we have had 0.1 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, and our hospital bed usage is at 0.8% of our prepared capacity.

This situation implies that we are both seeing fewer cases in new infections and that our medical services are not severely strained. We have successfully achieved our primary goal of “promptly adjusting the infection level to Stage 1 should the number of new cases nationwide decrease”, specified in our basic countermeasure policies.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all residents who have been taking thorough preventative measures and staying cautious and calm.

With the end of the current fiscal year and the beginning of a new fiscal year approaching, we can expect many people to transfer between regions or gather for the occasion. There is still a high risk of being infected, so I would like to ask all residents to take into consideration the following:

• Please be extra mindful when hosting get-together events in large groups or for long hours that may increase the risk of infections, such as at welcome and farewell parties, welcome parties for new students or members, thank-you parties that include meals, and also hanami (flower viewing) gatherings.
• Please take preventative measures when meeting people, especially when meeting an elderly person or attending social dinners.
• If you are visiting Iwate from another region that have also officially requested residents to refrain from going outdoors, please also refrain from going out for non-essential and non-urgent reasons or attending any parties for your first two weeks upon arrival.

However, this is not a flat request to shelter-at-home.

We have not asked restaurants and accommodation facilities to reduce their business hours or limit their services as part of our infection control measures. Therefore, residents and visitors are encouraged to visit these places as long as basic preventative measures are being followed, such as avoiding the “3 Cs”, frequently washing your hands with soap, and always wearing your masks.

Thank you very much.