A message from the Governor of Iwate about COVID-19 (May 26th)

-A message given by Governor Tasso during the 15th meeting of the Iwate Prefecture COVID-19 Countermeasures HQ (May 26th)-

First, I would like to express my respect and gratitude to all residents who have taken strict measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, and who have also remained calm under this stressful situation.

Yesterday, the national government made the decision to lift the state of emergency measures for all prefectures. The state of emergency measures for 39 prefectures, including Iwate, were first rescinded prior to yesterday’s decision; however, now that all measures have been lifted across the nation, we will endeavor to work together with all prefectures to find the balance between preventing the spread of the infection and maintaining our social economy.

I would like to once again ask residents of Iwate, as well as those of other prefectures, to continue with the following measures:

• Please refrain from non-urgent and non-essential outings, traveling home, and traveling between prefectures until the end of May to prevent the risk of spreading the infection.
• For those who are heading to or returning to Iwate, we kindly ask you to respect self-restraint measures from the prefecture you have left and to exercise caution for the 2 weeks following your arrival.
• We would be asking all residents to avoid facilities that have not followed industry-specific guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus, in addition to places where cluster cases have been reported or areas where the “3 Cs” are unavoidable. Please be sure to follow basic preventative measures.
• We also ask event organizers to implement thorough preventative measures. For large-scale national events, we ask organizers to either reschedule or cancel the event should it not be possible to implement preventative measures.
• We will continue to request all facilities, such as stores, to conduct thorough preventative measures, such as limiting the number of customers and overseeing them, providing hand washing spaces/disinfectants, and providing indoor ventilation.
• We would like to ask workplaces to continue taking measures by implementing work-from-home (telework) and other systems to reduce contact between people.
• Please continue to follow the recently introduced “new social behaviors***” to prevent the spread of the infection in daily life and socio-economic activities, such as “wearing a mask”, “maintaining social distances”, and others.

The prefectural government will support all residents that implement preventative measures in their daily lives, workplaces, and places of learning. Furthermore, with the addition of the second supplementary budget of the national government, comprehensive measures will be formulated in cooperation with municipalities and related organizations to support the healthcare system, daily life, and the recovery of regional economic activities, among others.

We kindly ask every individual to continue with basic preventative measures such as avoiding the “3 Cs”, keeping up proper handing washing, and maintaining social distance with others so that we can find balance in preventing the future spread of the virus while maintaining the social economy.

***"new social behaviors" will be re-translated as" new lifestyle(s)" in future messages from the Governor of Iwate (as of June 2, 2020)

 

• Information on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Iwate Prefecture
• Consultation Hotlines/Centers in Iwate for Possible COVID-19 Cases
• Iwate International Association（外部リンク）