The number of people infected with the new coronavirus in Miyazaki Prefecture is rapidly increasing.
The number of infected people in the week leading up to June 23rd was 2.2 times higher than three weeks ago, and experts are urging people to take measures to prevent infection, as the number of infected people is expected to continue to increase.

According to the prefecture, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 58 designated medical institutions in the prefecture in the week up to June 23 was 429, with 7.4 cases per medical institution, a 2.2-fold increase from late May, three weeks earlier.

This is Sakota Hospital in Miyazaki City. They currently have a fever clinic and are accepting COVID-19 patients by appointment.

Director Sasaki says that since last month, the number of COVID-19 patients has been increasing across a wide range of age groups.

(Seiichi Sasaki, Director of Sakota Hospital)
“My impression is that the number of patients has been increasing through May and June of this year, especially since the start of June.”

At Sakoda Hospital, the number of patients who visited with cold-like symptoms was 12 in April, but as of the 26th in June, 31 had visited, of which 15 tested positive.

(Seiichi Sasaki, Director of Sakota Hospital)
“(Symptoms) include fever, sore throat, cough, phlegm – these are cold symptoms, and I think many people have these. Even if symptoms are mild, if there is no test kit that can be done at home, I think that if you go to the hospital and get a proper diagnosis of coronavirus, the spread of infection within the home can be prevented.”

Regarding the reason for the increase in the number of people infected with the new coronavirus, Dr. Toshio Minematsu, a specialist in microbiology, said…

(Dr. Toshio Minematsu, Aisenkai Nichinan Hospital)
“The seventh round of COVID-19 vaccinations was administered in the fall of last year, but it appears that quite a few people did not receive the vaccine, which may have led to some people losing their immunity relatively quickly. Another factor is that the number of inbound tourists from overseas has increased this fiscal year, partly due to the weak yen.”

In addition, “mutations of the virus” and “relaxation of infection control measures across society” are also factors in the increase in the number of infected people, and Dr. Minematsu predicts that the number of infected people will continue to increase for some time.

(Dr. Toshio Minematsu, Aisenkai Nichinan Hospital)
“New strains are now being introduced from overseas one after another. When this happens, social movements among people become the prime source of spreading the virus. I think we need to be careful about events that bring people together, which is the first trigger.”

According to Dr. Minematsu, as infection control measures,

● Wash your hands and gargle
● Wear a mask
Avoid crowds
It is important,
During this time of year, if you are using air conditioning indoors, we would like you to open the windows and ventilate the room, even if only a little.