A message from the Governor of Iwate about COVID-19 (March 22nd)

A message to Iwate residents

 The state of emergency that was placed by the national government since January 7th has been lifted for all prefectures yesterday, March 21, 2021.
 However, there is still a possibility of the new COVID-19 strain spreading across the nation. Starting with the greater Tokyo area, we are seeing a drop in new cases stop and rise once again in some regions.
 Our neighbor, Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City, have independently declared their own state of emergency due to a surge in record-high new infection cases.

 As I have been requesting to all Iwate residents for the past months, please refrain from traveling to regions with widespread infections. Please also make careful considerations if you plan to travel to regions that have made official requests to stay-at-home.
 I would like to especially ask all residents to exercise extreme caution if you are traveling to the city of Sendai due to a rapid increase of infection cases being confirmed there.

 As for Iwate, while we have reported cluster cases in Kuji region and Yahaba region, and also infections caused from traveling between regions, in the most recent week (as of March 22), we have had 1.9 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, and our hospital bed usage is at 8.8% of our prepared capacity. Therefore, our healthcare system has not reached a critically-stressed stage at the moment.

 As people are getting busy for the end- and start-of-the-fiscal-year season with personnel transfers and gathering for the occasion, I would like to remind all to consider the following since there will be a higher risk of infections during this time:

 If you are feeling ill with symptoms like a high fever or a cough, please contact and consult with either your primary care/family doctor or the COVID-19 Consultation Center to take the PCR test as soon as possible.

 For hospitals and clinics, please urge any patients with symptoms, such as a fever, to take the PCR test.

 While the national state of emergency has been lifted for all prefectures, it is important that we do not become complacent and continue to take basic safety measures such as avoiding the “3 Cs”, washing your hands with soap, and wearing masks at all times.

 Thank you very much.