Southwestern Japanese city sees 46 new COVID-19 cases in 6 days after lull


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People wearing masks walk to work and school at JR Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture on the morning of May 29, 2020 (Mainichi / Tomohisa Yazu)

KITAKYUSHU, Fukuoka – After spending 23 days without a new coronavirus infection, this southwestern Japanese city has seen a resurgence of cases, with 21 new infections confirmed on May 28 alone – the highest figure recorded in Japan That day.

By comparison, Tokyo recorded 15 new cases on the same day.

In six days from May 23, the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture reported a total of 43 new coronavirus infections. Of these, the routes of infection for 21 people are unknown. The city government had implemented measures to prevent a “second wave” of infections, but clusters of infections were reported at two medical facilities in the city. The local government is about to investigate and analyze these clusters in collaboration with a team from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

According to the Kitakyushu municipal government, of the 21 people believed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus on May 28, 17 had close contact with patients with COVID-19, but the routes of infection for the other four did not. could not be determined. Among the 21 new cases reported were infections of a primary school girl and a junior high school boy. Two 70-year-olds and one 80-year-old were also infected.

Nine of the 21 people confirmed to be infected on May 28 are staff at Moji Medical Center in Moji Ward, the northern tip of the city. The municipal government acknowledged that the center is the site of a cluster of infections, while announcing another cluster to Kitakyushu General Hospital in Kokurakita neighborhood, after checking with those who have been in close contact. with infected people.

After reporting no new cases for 23 days from April 30, three new infections were confirmed on May 23, followed by three more cases on May 24, six on May 25, two on 26, eight on 27 and 21 on 28.

Hideki Nagatomi, head of the city’s health and welfare office, held a press conference on the night of May 28 and referred to the fact that clusters had occurred in two different locations, saying: “ We are on the verge of seeing a second wave (of infections) and are concerned about the situation going forward. We can only say that we are facing a very difficult situation. ”

(Japanese original by Takuya Inoue, Kyushu News Department)

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