Message from the Mayor Regarding COVID-19 (as of 8/19/2021)

The number of COVID-19 cases in our city has continued to rise since mid-July, and today, the number of new cases announced was 203, the highest ever on record.

We believe that the primary cause of this rapid increase in cases is due to those who took vacations in areas with high levels of infection, such as the capital metropolitan area, those who returned to Hiroshima City for Obon summer holidays from areas with high level of infections, and even those who held barbeques with friends: those people spread infection to their families, friends, and even their colleagues at workplaces despite their infection prevention measures.

The recent trend in patients is that an extremely large percentage of them are under 60; they make up 90% of all new cases reported from July 1 to August 17.

I would like all of our residents to remember that the Delta variant is highly contagious; one patient of this variant is said to have the capability to infect eight others. I would like you to remember that this is a virus that anyone is capable of catching, and that even the younger generation can develop serious symptoms which require ventilators, such as ECMO.

Keeping these things in mind, I ask that you take thorough measures to prevent infection-via-droplets (avoiding the 3Cs, wearing your mask properly, thorough ventilation), and wash and disinfect your hands even more conscientiously than ever before. I also ask that you refrain from traveling to and from areas with high levels of infection as much as is possible.

In closing, I request the continued cooperation of each and every Hiroshima City resident.

August 19, 2021
MATSUI Kazumi
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima