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Today, the Japanese national government declared a state of emergency for the entire country, including Hiroshima Prefecture.
Hiroshima Prefecture had just declared a state of warning for the spread of COVID-19 on April 13; immediately, the declaration was followed by a cluster outbreak in Hiroshima City, and today*, there are 118 confirmed cases in the prefecture (*current as of 4/16).
I am fully aware of the gravity of the situation here in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Today, a state of emergency has been declared for the entire country, and with the continuing spread of infection across the nation, I support the decision made by our national government.
I believe that stronger measures are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our country. I also believe that, as a prefecture under state of emergency, it is absolutely necessary for Hiroshima Prefecture to implement appropriate measures immediately.
It is first and foremost my priority to protect the lives, health, and livelihood of all Hiroshima citizens.
In order to do that, I must ask that citizens take drastic measures to reduce person-to-person contact, including measures mentioned in my previous statement, such as avoiding all unnecessary outings and reducing travel to and from work.
There are also those who are suffering economically, be it through large-scale loss of income or sales.
I would like to work with the national government to offer as much support as possible to those suffering economic losses, so that we may protect their livelihoods and businesses.
Specifically, Hiroshima Prefecture will introduce a supplementary budget to support the following main pillars:
To those running businesses: we believe that it is necessary to consider formally requesting that businesses close; which businesses will be subject to closure and the conditions of said closure will be decided upon consulting with experts.
In accordance with areas such as Tokyo which are currently facing the harsh reality of widespread infections, Hiroshima Prefecture will also aim to reduce person-to-person contact by 80%.
In order to achieve these, I once again ask all citizens and business owners to cooperate with the following.
To the citizens: I ask for your compliance in the following six requests (five of which were put forth in my previous statement):
To the business owners in Hiroshima Prefecture: comparing data from the end of January to data from April 7 and 14, it is clear that the number of people on the weekdays in/around major areas like Hiroshima Station has not seen a marked decrease.
From January 28 to April 7, we saw a 14% decrease, and on April 14 (after the prefecture requested citizens to avoid unnecessary outings on the weekdays), we saw another 14% decrease. When compared to the numbers before the increase in infections, we only see a 26% decrease; this figure is nowhere near good enough.
This figure represents the decrease in movement of people during the daytime across the six areas of the prefecture, and it means that there are still a substantial number of people going in to work.
I ask you, the business owners, to please do your part to encourage working from home.
Hiroshima Prefecture will be making requests that businesses increase the number of staff working from home once we have set target numbers which will efficiently stop the spread of infection.
For those working, I ask that you avoid the 3Cs (keeping a distance of 2 meters, etc).
I know that many of you are feeling anxious and uncertain with all of the recent developments.
Hiroshima Prefecture will do what it takes to protect the lives and livelihoods of our citizens by stopping the further spread of infection, securing medical treatments, care and facilities, and supporting those in need. We ask for your continued cooperation with all prefectural government requests, and please stay safe.
Help stop the spread of COVID-19 by frequently washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, maintaining proper coughing etiquette, and avoiding the 3Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings).
Avoid the 3Cs
Wash Your Hands!