5 new coronavirus cases in Hiroshima Pref, April 20
21 April, 2020
Hiroshima coronavirus clusters grow, Hiroshima governor calls on the young to stay home, municipalities offer financial support to businesses and Yamaguchi shuts down cross-border pachinko trips.
The number of coronavirus cases in the Chugoku region grew by 5 yesterday, April 20. All 5 cases where confirmed within Hiroshima Prefecture and are all connected to one of 2 clusters. There are now 137 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Hiroshima Prefecture and 205 across the Chugoku region.
| Coronavirus cases in Chugoku Region as of April 20, 2020 | ||||
| Hiroshima | Yamaguchi | Okayama | Shimane | Tottori |
| 137 | 30 | 19 | 16 | 3 |
| +5 | +0 | +0 | +0 | +0 |
| 1 death | ||||
5 new cases in Hiroshima City and Miyoshi clusters
3 residents & 1 staff member at the facility for people with learning disabilities in Saeki-ku, Hiroshima, at the center of a coronavirus cluster that now stands at 36 people tested positive for the virus yesterday. All tested negative in the first round of tests and were retested after developing symptoms.
A woman in her 50s has tested positive for coronavirus in Miyoshi in the north of Hiroshima Prefecture. She is a family member of a user of the elderly day care center in Miyoshi at the center of a large cluster of cases who previously tested positive. The Miyoshi cluster now stands at 38 and she is the 137th case of coronavirus in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
Hiroshima governor breaks down coronavirus cases by age
In one of his now regular YouTube announcements, Hiroshima governor Yuzaki broke down Hiroshima Prefecture’s 132 (at the time of broadcast) coronavirus cases by age to drive home the responsibility of younger generations to do their part in trying to prevent further spread of the virus.
Here’s how it breaks down:
| Total cases 132 | ||
| ~39 years old | 36% | 47 cases |
| 40~59 years old | 33% | 43 cases |
| 60~ years old | 27% | 35 cases |
| Age withheld | 5% | 7 cases |
He goes on to explain how easy it can be to spread the virus if social-distancing is not observed, illustrating several situations with line drawings on white boards which he holds up to the camera.
The broadcasts are all in Japanese (and sign language) but Yuzaki does speak quite slowly and clearly. Switching on auto-generated Japanese captions may also help.
Gamers crossing borders for pachinko fix leads to ban in Yamaguchi Pref
The governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture called on pachinko parlors to close yesterday after people from neighboring Hiroshima & Fukuoka Prefectures (where they are already closed) headed across the border to get their fix over the past weekend. The number of cars with plates from outside the prefecture was said to have been conspicuously large in pachinko parking lots.
The mayors of Iwakuni and Shimonoseki, where the issue was particularly noticeable as they lie just across the borders with Hiroshima and Fukuoka prefectures respectively, requested that the governor make the call. As well as 21 pachinko parlors, other gaming spots, net cafes, video game centers, karaoke boxes, bowling alleys, gym, pools and nightspots will also be affected.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
Mihara and Matsue announce business subsidies
Mihara City in Hiroshima Prefecture announced that it would provide a one-off subsidy of ¥50,000 to businesses in the city. Some 4000 businesses are expected to apply, costing around 216 million yen. Applications will be sent out at in early May and it is hoped that the first payments will be made by mid-May.
The city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, has set aside a budget of 6 million yen from which to offer financial support of up to ¥200,000 to restaurants to help defray the costs of taken measures such as switching to take-out and producing coupons which can be redeemed once social-distancing ends.
Other municipalities in the region are also considering support measure for local businesses.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
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