Hokkaido Japan’s northern island acted quickly and contained an early outbreak of the coronavirus with a 3-week lockdown. But its governor lifted restrictions, to face a second wave of infections hitting even harder. The island was forced back to lockdown.
Kazuto Suzuki, Vice Dean of International Politics at Hokkaido University says that even if you control the first wave, you can’t relax.
January 31st there was an annual snow festival in the island’s city of Sapporo. More than 2 million people attended the carnival and many were Chinese tourists.
At the start of the festival Hokkaido saw their first coronavirus patient, a woman from Wuhan, China. More Chinese tourists fell sick and then the virus circulated in the general population.
On February 28, first case was reported, there were 66 cases now with the highest of any prefecture in Japan. The governor declared a state of emergency. The government’s fast response could be a model for the country according to Dr. Kiyoshi Nagase, chairman of the Hokkaido Medical Association Schools, restaurants and businesses closed down though legally the government cannot compel a shut down. Government cannot use police or military to enforce a lockdown, it can only request, because the country’s constitution strictly protects civil liberties to avoid the return of fascism. People complied and stayed at home.
Mid-March the health crisis stabilized-new cases were low. Though the impact on the economy was severe. Two main industries in Hokkaido, agriculture and tourism were devastated. Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki has close ties with the national government, which has strong support from the business sector. In response to their pressure he decided to ease restrictions.
Nagase said at that time officials had limited knowledge of the virus and how quickly it could spread.
The state of emergency was lifted but residents were asked to continue to restrict social interaction and stay home if they were unwell. Hokkaido kept 34 government run facilities closed and the schools too.
Hokkaido residents crowded the streets, which likely kicked off the second wave of infections. People from other parts of Japan travelled to Hokkaido. Now the second outbreak was in full bloom.
On April 14, Hokkaido was forced to announce a state of emergency for a second time. Nagase said that they learnt a lesson, until there’s a vaccine or medicine, everyone needs to be personally responsible and understand that it really may not be until next year that they can safely lift the lockdowns.