The Asahikawa Municipal Government building. (Mainichi)

       ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido -- A 10-case COVID-19 cluster has hit a hospital in this northern Japanese city, including six people who'd had two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the city government announced on Aug. 30.

       The cluster occurred at Moriyama Memorial Hospital in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, which focuses on stroke and other rehabilitation. According to the city, "breakthrough infection" clusters of double-vaccinated people are rare.

       According to the hospital, the cluster happened on the third of its four floors, which has 54 beds in a rehabilitation ward. One staff member working on the third floor tested positive on Aug. 28, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the 53 patients and 48 staff members on the floor found five elderly patients and five staff members had the virus.

       Reportedly 90% of the hospital's staff and 70% of the patients have been fully vaccinated.

       (Japanese original by Nobuaki Tsuchiya, Asahikawa Bureau)

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