Joe Tomei here with a COVID-19 update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, Kumamoto prefecture JET Program coordinators. As always, thanks for allowing me to share it with the list.

Hi Kumamoto,

You may already have heard that the national government has extended its state of emergency for 10 prefectures. Today, Kumamoto Prefecture officially announced that it will extend its Independent State of Emergency. For more information, please see the following updates:

Kumamoto Prefecture extends State of Emergency until 21 February Today, the prefectural government announced that it will extend its independent State of Emergency until 21 February.

However, during the two-week extension, the Prefecture will make adjustments to the existing request regarding the shortening of business operating hours to apply only to a certain central area of Kumamoto City (rather than the whole prefecture) – the area contained in red here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/image/54585.jpg. From 8 February, businesses serving food and drink in this area will be asked to close at 10pm rather than 8pm as is currently the case.

The prefecture will continue to ask residents who have symptoms or who live with vulnerable family members to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings. Residents should avoid travel to places where infection is spreading (including areas for which a state of emergency has been declared), and to ask friends and relatives outside of Kumamoto to avoid visiting Kumamoto for the time being.

The Prefecture will continue to pay businesses co-operating with the closure requests 40,000 yen per day during the extended state of emergency.

https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/84592.html

Infection Situation in Kumamoto Prefecture Most of the indicators used to measure the infection situation in the prefecture have shown considerable improvement, including the number of severe cases in hospital, the proportion of cases which return a positive result, the number of new cases as a proportion of the population, and the number of cases with an unknown link. Although it still corresponds to Risk Level 5, the highest level of Kumamoto’s Independent Risk Level, most indicators put Kumamoto at “Stage 3” of the 4-stage scale used by the national government. You can see the chart for all of these indicators here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html

In the 1-week period between January 27 and February 2, there were only 4.3 cases per 100,000 population. However, the percentage of occupied hospital beds remains at 36.8%, higher than the target of 25%, resulting in the decision to extend the State of Emergency. https://this.kiji.is/730187278541750272?c=92619697908483575

If, during the extension, the proportion of hospital beds in use improves, the prefecture may make the decision to call off the state of emergency before 21 February.

Kumamoto Prefecture now allowing home recuperation for light or asymptomatic patients Since 1 February, Kumamoto Prefecture is now allowing those who test positive for COVID-19 in the prefecture, are under 40 years of age, and have mild or no symptoms to recover at home. In order to monitor the health of those recovering from home, the prefecture will operate a call centre in which nurses are available 24 hours/day, and the center will call twice daily to check symptoms and report to the local health centre. Food delivery services will be provided for those who can’t prepare their own meals and pulse oximeters will be loaned out. If sudden changes to the physical health of the patient occur, they will be able to be hospitalised without first going through their local health centre. https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP1S76Y5P1STLVB00F.html

National government to conduct free PCR tests to measure community spread incidence Beginning in March, the national government will be conducting free PCR tests on members of the public in urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka in order to gauge the extent of community spread. Every day, hundreds or thousands of people will receive a PCR test. The tests will be free for those chosen to be tested and will take place in a number of locations where people gather such as central business districts, businesses, and universities. In addition to collecting samples on-site, people selected to participate may also submit their samples via post. Participants will be notified of their results but no identifying information will be published. https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/81969

More information revealed about vaccine distribution timelines The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has announced their intended schedule of vaccine distribution in an explanatory meeting for local government staff. “Tickets” will be distributed by mail directly to people when they become eligible to receive the vaccine. The first wave of tickets will be mailed in mid-March to residents aged 65 and older, after which there will be a 3-month window for them to receive both doses of the vaccine. However, the number of available vaccines and the provision capacity of various local governments are expected to affect the rollout timeline, so it remains unclear whether vaccine distribution will necessarily proceed as scheduled. https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/82011