Japan deploys cluster response team to southwestern city due to spike in COVID-19 cases

The Japanese health ministry dispatched a cluster response team to Kitakyushu City in southwestern Japan due to a spike in COVID-19 cases there, Japan's top government spokesperson said Thursday.

"The health ministry sent a team in charge of cluster response yesterday. We will work with the local government to prevent the spread of the virus," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference on the matter.

Cases in the city first began to rise from early March until late April, but subsided from the end of April, with no new infections being reported through last Friday, according to the health ministry and local authorities.

But following three new COVID-19 cases being confirmed on Saturday, the number in the region surged to 22 in the five days through Wednesday, with concerns also raised as 17 of the cases reportedly had infection routes that could not be traced.

The figure currently stands at a total of 98 confirmed cases in the southwestern city.

The mayor of Kitakyushu City, Kenji Kitahashi, has warned of a possible second wave of coronavirus infections, telling reporters on Thursday that efforts would be made to "escape the crisis with a shared awareness that a dire situation is coming," according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK.

He added that of the 22 new infections, 12 elderly people have contracted the pneumonia-carrying virus and their recent activities would be tracked in a bid to try to prevent new clusters forming at care facilities for senior citizens.

The recent spike in cases in Kitakyushu City after the state of emergency over the coronavirus was being lifted in 39 of Japan's 47 prefectures, comprising Fukuoka Prefecture that includes Kitakyushu, on May 14.

On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe completely lifted the state of emergency for the nation, with the five remaining prefectures still under restrictions, including Tokyo, which seems to have also controlled the spread of the virus.

Recently reopened attractions in Kitakyushu City were closed down on Thursday, along with 43 public facilities that will be shuttered until June 18.

These include Kokura Castle, a literature museum and a manga museum, local media said.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)