Kitakyushu City Mayor Kenji Kitahashi said, "We are in the midst of a second wave [of the pandemic]," at a city meeting on Friday. He instructed his staff to consider measures such as suspending the operations of more public facilities.
Kitakyushu has confirmed new coronavirus cases for six consecutive days through Thursday. Twenty-one people were confirmed to be infected on Thursday, with outbreaks occurring at two medical institutions in the city. The municipal education board disinfected the junior high school where infected students attended, on Friday morning.
Fukuoka Gov. Hiroshi Ogawa said, "[We] understand the seriousness of the situation," at a regular press conference on Friday. When asked on whether or not he intended to allow some businesses and nightclubs to resume operations after Sunday, the governor said, "We will analyze the situation in Kitakyushu and make a decision as soon as possible."
The four criteria the prefectural government has created to decide whether or not to extend the request to suspend business operations are the number of new infections, the ratio of people whose infection routes are unknown, the occupancy rate of hospital beds and the occupancy rate of critically ill patients.
"The [current situation] does not meet these criteria," Ogawa said.
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