In April, after COVID-19 infection clusters were confirmed at a nightclub and a restaurant in the city of Gifu, workers at the Gifu Public Health Center in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, were inundated with calls.
Reiko Inoue, a 56-year-old public health nurse at the center, said the situation at that time left her completely exhausted. “If it went on, I thought I would collapse,” she said.
A total of 61 people, including some living outside the city of Gifu, were confirmed to have been infected in clusters identified at the nightclub on April 3 and at the restaurant on April 9. The rising number of cases triggered significant concern among people in the prefecture.