People Urged To Refrain From Visiting Yoron
The mayor of Yoron, a remote island town in southwestern Japan, is urging people to refrain from visiting due to a recent outbreak of the coronavirus.
Yama Motomune spoke to NHK after 34 cases were confirmed in the five days through Sunday. He pointed to the limited medical capacity in Yoron, a popular tourist destination in Kagoshima Prefecture.
He mentioned the possibility of typhoons, and expressed concern about how to prevent the virus from spreading in shelters, which are typically enclosed, crowded and close-contact settings.
Yama also said there are many elderly people in Yoron.
Nagai Shinko, a guest house owner who is also the head of a local tourist association, said the infections at the beginning of the summer dealt a heavy blow to the local tourism industry.
But he acknowledged that preventing more infections is more important than anything else. Like the mayor, he is asking people to refrain from visiting the island. Nagai said all the islanders will work to ensure that many tourists can visit when the situation is under control.
The Kagoshima prefectural government says it is highly likely that a cluster of infections occurred at Yoron Tokushukai Hospital, as well as at a restaurant.
A health ministry taskforce is investigating.
