Prefecture raises alert level as new Covid-19 victims in Okinawa surpass 1,000. (23de22)


Splendor of Okinawa: Cordyline fruticosa, along wall in Uruma, 20de22


On 22 December, Okinawa Prefecture announced that 1010 people were newly infected with Covid-19. It was the first time since 9 September that the number of new victims surpassed one thousand in a single day. Since 14 December, the hospital bed occupancy rate also has stood steady at 30%. So, the Prefecture has raised the alert level from 1 (a lull in contagion) to 2 (onset of wide-spread contagion).


Moreover, the Prefecture has put in place a “Countermeasure period to maintain social and economic activity and suppress wide-spread contagion” from now until 13 January 2023 and urged contagion preventative measures and vaccinations.


After the Virus Response Headquarters Committee meeting on 22 December, Governor Denny Tamaki held a  press conference. He reminded the prefecture’s people, “For the past two years, we’ve had a wave of travel arriving  at year end and the start of the new year. It’s an especially important time of year when many people pile in here for school entrance exams, homecoming, and such. We’d like you all to consider getting vaccinated now, within this year.”


The governor noted that contagion is widespread among patients with a high risk of serious infection  in facilities for the aged. Because of the tendency toward an increase in those requesting emergency care during the winter season, there is concern by some that, if the contagion becomes widespread, the health care load will skyrocket.


In order to avoid stress on the health care system, the governor has a new response plan. The elderly, those pregnant, and such, will use family doctors or contact a prefectural high fever call center. He requested that others with light illness use self-examination test kits and such, or home recuperation


Hereafter, if the contagion becomes even more wide-spread, the governor will issue a level 3 alert (a period of increased loads for medical care). The governor expressed his understanding that, in such a case, he might possibly have to request  reevaluation of participation in large scale events.


Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Friday 23 December 2022 at 05:34. Byline: Teppei Ikeda and Takuya Kayo

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/699ec48b38d885e631b56e5236efe823323e3394


Denny in the News: news about Governor Denny Tamaki.

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 

  1. This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 

  2. Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

  3. Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

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