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A message from Governor Tasso during the 67th meeting
of the Iwate Prefecture COVID-19 Countermeasures HQ (December 26th)

Iwate prefecture

【Japanese/日本語】 【Chinese/中文】

Recently, the number of new cases has reached around 2000 people every day and as of today, the number of cases per 100,000 people is 951.8. While a steady decrease has been observed in the last four days, the amount of new cases is still high.

Currently, the burden on the medical system is increasing as a result of the spread of the virus. 41.1% of the beds reserved for coronavirus patients are currently in use, and in some areas, more than 50% of the beds are in use.

There has been an increase in the number of medical workers who are unable to work due to close contact or infection, proportionate to the number of cases observed in the prefecture. It is getting to the point where we are being forced to place restrictions on general healthcare such as testing and treatment at certain medical facilities.

I ask everyone to be thorough in infection prevention measures in order to prevent an increase in new cases and prevent further burden on the medical system.

Soon, it will be the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. People will be out and about and meet up with people they don’t regularly meet up with.

Given the current infection situation, anyone can become a close contact or be infected at any time.

With the support of the prefectural medical association and medical facilities, we will ensure that medical treatment will be available throughout the New Year period, however, I ask everyone to avoid going outside if you have symptoms such as coughing or fever, and to prepare rapid antigen tests and fever medicine at home.

I ask everyone, during the New Year period, to be thorough in their infection prevention measures. If you plan to meet people who are likely to become severely infected, such as the elderly or people with underlying conditions, please be even more careful to prevent getting infected and infecting others.