Governor Tamaki declares “7th wave” of the coronavirus as 1,355 new cases are confirmed in Okinawa
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Omicron variant electron micrograph (National Institute of Infectious Diseases)
April 8, 2022 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Teppei Ikeda
Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki held a press conference the evening of April 7, where he indicated that the prefecture is once again at a heightened sense of risk with daily new cases of COVID-19 in Okinawa had surpassed 1,000 per day, stating “We must recognize that we have already entered into a seventh wave.” He stated that if they are unable to halt the spread, they would need to enact semi-state of emergency COVID-19 measures and would need to look into restricting economic activity, and he asked the people of Okinawa to take thorough steps to halt the spread of the virus.
On April 7, the number of new positive cases increased by 233 week-over-week to 1,355 cases, and it was reported that 107 of the cases were people related to the U.S. military. In the press conference, Tamaki indicated that the BA.2 variant, which is considered more contagious than omicron, continued to take over as the main variant of new cases, and he indicated that these cases would continue to increase globally.
He asked Okinawan residents to 1. Avoid things that would put elderly people at risk of infection 2. Refrain from parties for company employees, or any events involving eating and drinking (or keep events to four people or less and under two hours) 3. Refrain from parties to welcome new college students, especially ones involving drinking. Tamaki also indicated that they asked each government department to explore policies that would help prevent the spread of the disease at a task force meeting earlier that day.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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