Another update of the most recent cases from Bilal Khan & Lily McDermott, JET Prefectural Advisors

●Elementary school student in Yatsushiro confirmed to be infected: An elementary school student who attended the Yatsushiro school at which a teacher was infected tested positive for COVID-19. The boy, who is under 10 years old, briefly had fever on the 24 July (Friday), but the fever went away over the weekend. He went to school on Monday. He is currently asymptomatic. The school was planning to re-open tomorrow, but will likely remain closed until 7 August. https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/common/UploadFileOutput.ashx?c_id=3&id=32300&sub_id=69&flid=245014
https://kumanichi.com/news/1543479/

●Two additional cases confirmed at a care home in Yamaga, bringing the total to 31 cases in that cluster. Both are residents of the facility in their 90s. Six more cases were also confirmed to be infected in the area of the Ariake Health Centre, four of which are directly conneccted to the JMU cluster–one who lives in Arao City, one lives in Tamana, one in Nagasu Town and the other in Fukuoka Prefecture. https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/common/UploadFileOutput.ashx?c_id=3&id=32300&sub_id=67&flid=244946

●A woman in her 40s who was confirmed to be infected yesterday is reportedly a health care worker at Arao Shimin Byoin. She is the wife of a worker at JMU in Nagasu Town, who was also infected. https://kumanichi.com/news/1543228/

●After two consecutive infections were confirmed in employees there, Kikuchi CIty Hall re-opened at 1pm this afternoon. All 18 people determined to be close contacts tested negative.
https://kumanichi.com/news/1543229/

● 367 new cases confirmed in Tokyo today, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200730/k10012540461000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_004
Governor Koike described the situation as ”extremely dangerous" and has requested restaurants/izakayas/bars and karaoke parlours located in the city to reduce their operating hours starting next month from August 3 to 31st, to close at 10pm, with a subsidy provided for cooperating businesses. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200730/k10012541381000.html?utm_int=news-social_contents_list-items_002

● Yesterday, the first two cases since the beginning of the pandemic were confirmed in Iwate Prefecture. The infected individuals live in Morioka City but went to a campground in the Kanto area where they slept in a tent with a friend who was later confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.

Coronavirus has now been confirmed in all 47 prefectures of Japan. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200729/k10012539681000.html?utm_int=nsearch_contents_search-items_002 https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200730/k10012541011000.html?utm_int=all_side_ranking-social_005

●1251 new cases were confirmed in one day across the country yesterday, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. It was also the first time the number of cases exceeded 1000 in one day. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/60e165c6213e9b27c3e600207f8d2293653568f7

This brings the total number of cases confirmed so far today to 9; the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic in Kumamoto is 164.