Another update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, the JET Prefectural Advisors for Kumamoto Prefecture. Two very useful links given at the end of this.

Prefecture admits 47 Vietnamese Technical Trainees infected at JMU cluster (Translation of: https://this.kiji.is/664966665737356385?c=92619697908483575) On 9 August, Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun reported that 47 of the 108 cases confirmed so far in the JMU cluster centred in Nagasu Town were confirmed among Vietnamese nationals who work at JMU as technical trainees.

Of the 661 employees tested so far, 108 have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19, of which 47 were Vietnamese technical trainees, and 51 other employees. The prefecture had been announcing the cases as “JMU Employees” and not disclosing their nationalities.

On the 8th, the Public Health Emergency Management Division admitted that the cluster included technical trainees, but explained that the standards on case announcements set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare standards do not include nationality. In order to prevent potential abuse and slander, the Kumamoto Prefectural government will not proactively release information on nationality of infected individuals, unless it determines that it is necessary to prevent the spread of infection.

On the other hand, Kumamoto City (note: Kumamoto City announces cases separately to Kumamoto Prefecture) did announce the nationality of a foreigner who was confirmed to be infected in July. However, due to the possibility of being able to personally identify the individual, Kumamoto City reversed its protocol and has decided not to announce the nationality of confirmed cases in the future, unless doing so would prevent the spread of infection. Kumamoto City said that it will “operate more carefully, considering the balance between privacy protection and information disclosure”.

Additional cases: The following cases have been announced in Kumamoto since our last update:

Case 357 (August 10) - Female in her 50s, Yamaga City - Employee at Yamaga Municipal Health Center, Infection route unknown Case 356 (August 10) - Yamaga nursing home cluster Case 355 (August 10) - Female in her 30s, Koshi City - Related to the 349th case Case 354 (August 9) - Female in her 20s, Kumamoto City - Related to the 350th case Case 353 (August 8) - Female in her 30s, Tamana City - Friend of the 246th case Case 352 (August 8) - Arao City - Nagasu cluster (JMU) Case 351 (August 8) - Female in her 30s, Kumamoto City - Unknown infection route Case 350 (August 8) - Female in her 40s, Kumamoto City - Travelled outside the prefecture on July 25 Case 349 (August 8) - Male in his 30s, Koshi City - Unknown infection route Case 348 (August 8) - Male in his teens, Kikuyo Town - Unknown infection route Case 347 (August 8) - Female in her teens, Mifune Town - Unknown infection route Case 346 (August 8) - Male in his 60s, Kikuchi City - A patient at Kikuchi Hospital since May Cases 344, 345 (August 8) - Yamaga City - Yamaga nursing home cluster Case 343 (August 8) - Female in her 40s, Uki City - Related to the 229th case Case 342 (August 8) - Female in her 20s, Tamana City - Went for a meal in Fukuoka with a friend Case 341 (August 7) - Female in her 20s, Kumamoto City - Retail employee Case 340 (August 7) - Female in her 60s, Kamiamakusa City - Related to the 316th case Case 339 (August 7) - Arao City - Nagasu cluster (lives with a confirmed case) Case 338 (August 7) - Arao City - Nagasu cluster (lives with a confirmed case) Case 337 (August 7) - Yamaga City - Yamaga nursing home cluster Case 336 (August 7) - Male in his 20s, Minamioguni Town - Met with a confirmed case in Fukuoka Case 335 (August 7) - Male in his 20s, Arao City - Met a friend for dinner in Fukuoka city on August 1 Case 334 (August 7) - Arao City - Nagasu cluster (JMU) Case 333 (August 7) - Yamaga City - Yamaga nursing home cluster

You can check the homepage of the Support Center for Foreign Residents to find the most recent case announcements in English. http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page156.html

Infections map Kumanichi published this (attached) map of cases throughout the prefecture. It shows how many cases have been announced so far for each region of the prefecture. In the north, there are 213 cases, in the central part of the prefecture which includes Kumamoto City, Kamimashiki and Shimomashiki, 122 cases have been confirmed, 12 in the south (Yatsushiro, Minamata, Ashikita, Kuma etc.) and 3 in Amakusa. 6 cases connected to Kumamoto have also been confirmed through tests conducted in other parts of Japan. https://this.kiji.is/665691444901119073?c=92619697908483575