From March 15th, New Practices Responding to the Novel Coronavirus
On March 12th, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Fukui Prefecture has announced that the ongoing postponement and suspension of prefectural facilities and events have been extended to March 24th. Meanwhile, upon raising alerts for outdoor prefectural children’s facilities, regulations have been relaxed to allow a reopening from the 15th.
New practices were outlined at a Fukui Prefectural Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters conference.
The easing of regulations for outdoor facilities was based on a notice by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The outdoor facilities which will reopen, including the Fukui Prefectural Children’s Science Museum (in Sakai City), posted notices concerning the potential danger of infection when using the playground equipment.
Facilities which are currently open, such as the Fukui Prefectural Library, revised its infection prevention policies, from advising children to “please refrain” from using the facility, to “please refrain from staying for an extended period of time”, as well as implementing other preventative measures such as ventilation.
Regarding the opening of indoor facilities and holding events, three preventative measures have been appended to be implemented: carrying out proper ventilation, reducing the number of people in one space, and avoiding close interactions.
On March 13th, a number of facilities remaining closed due to having a higher risk of group infections, and events that have been suspended or postponed were also listed in the conference.
Concerning other matters in the conference, it was stated that about forty-thousand medical face masks will be delivered from the country and into the prefecture throughout the next week. Also, third-year prefectural senior high school students who have received post-graduation job offers have not been affected by the COVID-19 situation, as of March 12th.
ネイト ＝ Nate 