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Regarding the current state of COVID-19 infections: thanks to your cooperation, all indicators for both Hiroshima Prefecture and Hiroshima City are below the warning thresholds, and it is estimated that we will soon be in stable Level 1 conditions.
With this, the Hiroshima Prefectural Government has ended its Intensive COVID-19 Infection Prevention Measures as of February 21, 2021, and has, as a general rule, lifted all formal requests to citizens and businesses, such as limiting outings and shortening business hours.
However, in light of preventing situations with increased risk of infection, the prefecture has announced an amended version of their COVID-19 Infection Prevention Measures (henceforth known as intensive measures) which details infection prevention measures that citizens should continue to practice from here forward. An excerpt can be found below:
All formal requests to citizens and businesses to limit outings and reduce the number of workers in office have been lifted. In addition, formal requests for dining establishments, other facilities, and events to shorten business hours have also been lifted.
A: When the prefecture saw a sharp increase in infections last December, once we crossed the warning threshold, we saw a rapid increase in the spread of infection. Based on this experience, should the situation once again escalate to near warning threshold levels, we must once again prepare to limit citizen activity. However, as these limits have a huge impact socially and economically, we would ideally like to avoid them as much as possible. In order to do that, we must continue to keep the infection level at a low AND continue with the following measures:
It is of the utmost importance that each and every one of you continues to practice basic infection prevention measures without fail, including avoiding the 3Cs, wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently, and practicing coughing etiquette.
In addition, if you develop symptoms such as a fever or cough, limit your outings and be sure to consult with your regular doctor or contact the Hiroshima City COVID-19 Call Center.
We ask for the continued cooperation of each and every one of our citizens in continuing to adhere to these basic measures.
We ask that our citizens choose to dine out at establishments that have physical infection prevention measures in place.
We continue to ask that citizens avoid travel, as much as possible, to areas under State of Emergency (etc).
We also ask that you seriously reconsider travel plans to/from regions with increased infections
We have decided to extend the operations of the five PCR Testing Centers in the prefecture as of the end of February. As the formal request to dining establishments for shortened hours of operation under intensive measures has been lifted as of February 21, beginning February 22, those who dined at Hiroshima City establishments under shortened hour restrictions will no longer be eligible to use these testing centers.
Regarding the Nagarekawa and Kan-on PCR Testing Centers, which serve as monitoring points, we will offer testing every day to anyone living or working in Hiroshima City (limited to the first 500 people to make an appointment).
Please note that appointments in advance are required to use this service; testing is offered free of charge.
In order to prevent another wave of infection, Hiroshima Prefecture will continue to conduct active epidemiological surveys and strengthen our testing system in order to ensure early detection and prevent cluster outbreaks.
Should we begin to see signs of another wave of infections, we will strengthen our testing systems and work to contain the number of infected patients through measures such as centralized PCR testing when necessary.
We ask for your cooperating in adhering to these five points to prevent another wave of infections.