New coronavirus cases in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, April 27
April 28, 2020
Two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Chugoku region were announced yesterday. Funairi Hospital contact tracing update. Pachinko holdouts and streaming tulips.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus (as of 11 pm April 27) in Hiroshima Prefecture is now 149 and 228 across the 5 prefectures of the Chugoku Region.
| Coronavirus cases in Chugoku Region as of April 26, 2020 | ||||
| Hiroshima | Yamaguchi | Okayama | Shimane | Tottori |
| 149 | 32 | 22 | 22 | 3 |
| +1 | +1 | +1 | +5 | +0 |
| 2 deaths | ||||
New case in Hiroshima City, Saeki-ku cluster grows to 56
A man in his 20s who is a resident of the Kenshinen residential care facility for people with learning disabilities in Saeki-ku, Hiroshima City has been confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus. He is the 56th case of coronavirus connected with this facility, the 73rd case in Hiroshima City and the 149th in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
Coworkers and family of infected nurse test negative
3 colleagues and 2 people who share living quarters with the nurse that works on the coronavirus ward at Funairi Hospital in Hiroshima City who tested positive for the virus on April 27 have all tested negative for coronavirus.
The 3 colleagues sat in the same room as the nurse that later tested positive during a lunch break on April 23. In line with hospital policy, staff take preventative measures during break times such as staying 1-2m apart and making sure that they do not face each other. In an earlier statement, Hiroshima City stated that the strict precautions taken by hospital staff made testing unnecessary at this time. However, as he health workers did remove their masks during the break to eat and drink, the decision was taken to test them.
2 family members who live with the nurse who has tested positive have also tested negative for coronavirus.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
New coronavirus case in Yamaguchi Pref
A man in his 50s in Sanyo-onoda in Yamaguchi Prefecture has tested positive for coronavirus. He is a family member of a married couple in their 30s who tested positive in Yamaguchi City on April 12 and 13. The man was tested on April 13, as he had had contact wth the husband. He tested negative, but came into contact on the same day with the wife who was to return a positive test later that day. Despite not presenting symptoms he tested positive on the final day of his 14 day isolation. 2 family members who live with him have tested negative. He is the 32nd case in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
A handful of pachinko parlors refusing to close
Although most pachinko parlors in Hiroshima Prefecture have temporarily closed in response to the urgent request of the governor of Hiroshima and the Prefectural Gaming Business Association, some parlors have refused to shut their doors. Chugoku Shinbun reported that there was a long line of people waiting for a pachinko parlor in Aki-gun to open before 9am yesterday.
One man commented that, though he understands there is a risk of the virus spreading, with net cafes and other amusement spots all shutting down he wants to enjoy killing time while the few remaining places are still open. [Original Japanese: 「客同士が近くて感染の怖さは確かにあるが、ネットカフェなどもどんどん閉まっている。店が開いている限りは、暇つぶしで来てしまう」と話した。」]
Other areas such as Osaka and Hyogo have employed a naming and shaming tactic in an attempt to pressure parlors to close. Local authorities, however, are concerned that this will just serve as advertising and exacerbate the situation. A man in his 20s lining up at the parlor mentioned above is quoted as saying that he heard that the parlor was open via Twitter.
There are 230 pachinko and slot machine businesses in Hiroshima Prefecture and, as of yesterday less than 10 are still open.
In neighboring Yamaguchi Prefecture, 2 parlors run by the same company are still operating in defiance of the prefecture’s request to shut down to help prevent the further spread of coronavirus.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
Tulips coming at you by livestream
While there have been reports of parks around Japan cutting down tulip fields and rose gardens to stop them acting as magnets for flower viewers to congregate, Bihoku Hillside Park in Shobara is working on sharing the beauty of their tulips fields via online.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_dVeEwDWP7/
The park, which would usually be receiving thousands of visitors at this time of year, has been closed since April 18 and will remain so for the foreseeable future. During this time, park staff are working on sharing beautiful photos and live streaming video via their Facebook and Instagram channels.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
Just in
Just as we are about to hit publish we have heard that one more case has been announced in Shimane Prefecture (not reflected in the figures above).
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
See all our posts related to the coronavirus pandemic here
