Suzu: COVID-19 and other infectious diseases have been spreading at evacuation centers in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, following a powerful earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day.

Multiple cases of COVID-19 and norovirus have been confirmed at evacuation centers in the city of Wajima and the town of Anamizu, according to the Ishikawa prefectural government.

Disaster medical assistance teams and others are treating those suspected of suffering from infectious diseases.

Water supply has been cut off in the cities of Wajima and Suzu. The cold weather is becoming more severe, and overcrowded evacuation centers are posing a major health concern.

One evacuation center in Suzu where about 800 people stayed at one point is providing disinfectants, making announcements urging ventilation three times a day and calling on people to change their shoes when they enter.

A facility in Wajima, which houses around 60 evacuees, is keeping ventilation fans on at all times and asking people to wear face masks. “No one has tested positive for COVID-19 or influenza,” said Toshihiro Izumi, a city government official operating the facility.

Some evacuation centers face the problems of people not being able to wash their hands due to the water outage and a lack of portable toilets.

“Some people are getting sick, but many others are enduring it,” a 43-year-old woman at one evacuation center said. “We are left to fend for ourselves.”

“It’s a tough situation, but people should wash their hands and ventilate as much as possible,” said Erisa Sugawara, a professor of infection control science at Tokyo Healthcare University’s graduate school.

“People should report immediately if they’re not feeling well, and they should wear a mask if they have a cough,” Sugawara said.

JIJI Press