Thank you for protecting the island from the corona May 14 19:58
“There is one clinic. There is no medical institution that can cope with the new coronavirus infectious disease.” The
new coronavirus has greatly affected remote islands with weak medical systems and economic base. Under such circumstances, if we could protect the island with gratitude and connection, rather than fear and anger that a virus would be brought in ...
The call for "Thank you for protecting the island" is spreading in many places.
Impact of "infection confirmation"
9th of this month. Mikurashima village in Tokyo announced that the chairman of the village council was infected with the new coronavirus. About 200 km from the city center. I was nervous about the first infection confirmation in the islands.
The number of manned remote islands in Japan is 416. Concerns about the weakness of the medical system and the spread of infection in limited living areas.
If an infected person emerges from a ferry carrying daily necessities, it is necessary to stop the operation for a certain period of time. Even if one person is infected, the impact is large compared to that of the mainland, and many islands are for tourism purposes. I am calling for the self-restraint of Kurushima.
Anxiety
Tobishima, about 40 kilometers northwest of Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture, has a population of more than 180 people. The entire island is a national park, and it is the only remote island in Yamagata Prefecture where you can enjoy bird watching and swimming.
Last month, before the spring tourism season, Sakata City called for Kurushima self-restraint. There are no resident doctors on Tobishima. Nearly 80% of the islanders are elderly, and if infected, they may lead to serious infection or mass infection. This was a strong message sent out as the “consensus” of the islanders who want to protect their lives and health, as the owners of inns and guest houses also decided to decline reservations.
“Impaired among the islanders,” said Tomoya Matsumoto, who moved to the island eight years ago and is co-representative of the community development company, because the medical care of the island is not perfect and the number of tourists is increasing. .
Doctors at risk of source of infection
The influence of Kurushima self-restraint is no exception to the doctors dispatched from outside the island to the island. In Toshima Village, Kagoshima Prefecture, where there are seven manned remote islands, no doctors are stationed on each island, and the nurses living on each island support medical care.
Twice a month, doctors patrolled from Amami City, which has a relatively large hospital in Kagoshima City, to provide medical treatment. However, as the infection with the new coronavirus spreads, the hospital side said, “The doctor is the source of the infection. There is a risk of becoming a risk of becoming ill. ”Since the end of last month, we have temporarily stopped visiting clinics.
Instead, we switched to telemedicine using a video conference system. One of the residents who received the medical treatment said, "I don't care if I'm remote, but people with health concerns may be disappointed."
If a seriously ill patient comes out, we will respond with a helicopter from the prefecture or the Self-Defense Force as before. Dr. Shinmasa Nagashima of the Kagoshima Red Cross Hospital, who is in the process of medical treatment, said, "I'm disappointed that I had to stop patrols. Now I want to use remote medical care so that patients can feel at ease." .
# Thank you for protecting the South Island
Some people are wondering if they can help from outside the island. This message on Twitter calls "Thank you for protecting the southern islands." Contributed by Raku Ono and Anzu Tanaka, university students from Amami Oshima who live in Kanto.
Instead of calling out “don't come to the island” in a negative way, I wanted to broaden the sympathy of many people by making a positive expression with a sense of gratitude. I called it the "Southern Island" because the situation was the same for other remote islands.
After calling for the 25th of last month, which was ahead of the long holidays, the number of posts with these words exceeded 10 times the target in more than 20,000 in a single day.
Since then, the voice of support has spread, and videos that introduce the state of the island and messages that encourage the self-restraint situation have been posted.
Anzu Tanaka
"I was happy to know that many people thought of the island, and I felt the strength of the connections between the people of the island."
Raku Ono
“There is a conflict that our activities may have caused tourists to suffer, so once we have converged, I would like to do activities that will bring many people to Amami.”
"Ticket to go to Kondo Oji"
"There is one clinic for medical care on the island. There are two doctors. There is no medical institution that can deal with the new coronavirus infection." It
is written on the website like this to call for voluntary restraint on the island of Goto Islands, Nagasaki Prefecture. Ojika Town in the north with a population of about 2,400.
Ojika-cho is looking for ways to survive the difficult times by paying attention to its connection with people.
An NPO corporation that is entrusted with the town's tourist window business is a product with some premiums that can be used at accommodation facilities and restaurants on the island in order to secure immediate income and have tourists visit after the situation has settled. Tickets and "Kondo-O-Kani Go Tickets" are available online.
106 people purchased a total of 1.22 million yen in a month from the start of sales to the 10th of this month. About 80% of them are considered to be tourists who have visited the island or people from the island.
It is said that the purchaser has also received messages of support such as "I will do my best to refrain from the day of visiting the island" or "I hope the energetic Ojika will return".
The person in charge of the NPO corporation said, "I am really grateful for the people who support the island from outside the island while everyone is in trouble."
Based on "I can't go now because I like the island"
What will be required of Mr. Yoshimichi Ueda, CEO of General Research Institute for Remote Island Research, who visits many remote islands and is thinking about a mechanism for promoting the islands together with the people of the islands during the continuation of the self-restraint of Kurushima? I heard.
"Based on the idea that" I love the island, I can't go now ", I ask the inn where I once stayed," What's happening these days? "If you're selling specialty products of the island, you can buy it. The thing that people are most worried about is that the customers will leave.It is also possible to call or e-mail, so it is important to visualize that the feeling that "I will go to play when it converges" is connected. It is necessary to create a mechanism to maintain it. ''
The key word is "the theory of the near people and the coming of the distant people"?
After that, I talked about the post-convergence of the new coronavirus as follows.
"There are aspects such as the lodging business that are extremely difficult to manage, but there are also efforts to dig up the" domestic demand "in which the islanders will stay at local hotels and other locations with financial support from the government, such as Iki Island in Nagasaki Prefecture. The key word in the jargon is “the theory of the near and the coming of the distant.” Tourists want to visit when the islanders rediscover the charm of the local area and enjoy it. We want to go to stores where people go! ”Even if the emergency declaration is lifted and V-shaped recovery does not occur, we will provide value-added services to people who can understand the value even with a small number of people. I think we can see the shift to accelerating, and we can see the evolution from before the new Corona. ''
(Taichi Takahashi reporter, Kagoshima broadcaster reporter / Nagasaki broadcaster reporter, Tamada Kei / Yamagata broadcaster reporter, Kiriyama Wataru cameraman Kohei Ogawa / Network press reporter Yoshiyuki Gun)