Introduction：Although psychosocial support for cancer patients, their family, and those who are bereaved is essential, it is still considered inadequate. Anyone can become a member of the “Gan Cafe” support group, such as those suffering from cancer, those who have survived cancer, family members of cancer patients and those who have lost people to cancer, can get psychosocial support and palliative care support from palliative care unit staff. Case：A 53-year-old male was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001 and underwent surgery. In 2006 he underwent chemotherapy, as he suffered a relapse. In 2012, while undergoing treatment, he joined the “Gan Cafe” along with his family members. He was able to interact with other members of the group and with the staff of the palliative care unit as a cancer patient, while his wife and children could interact with them as cancer patients family members. Six months later, when being admitted to the palliative care unit, the patient and his family members felt secure as they had become well acquainted with the staff at the “Gan Cafe.” After he had passed away, the wife continued to participate in the “Gan Cafe” as a bereaved family member and the same staff provided her with grief support. Conclusion：Through participation in the “Gan Cafe”, the staff of the palliative care unit was able to provide continuous palliative care with a focus on psychosocial support from the pre-hospital stage to grief support after the patients passed away.

Objective: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant B.1.1.529 (Omicron) was first detected in Japan in November 2021. In Osaka, public health centres subsequently increased active case finding and encouraged self-isolation. This study investigated the effectiveness of these countermeasures. Methods: Cases targeted for analysis were persons who had neither recently travelled abroad nor had contact with foreign tourists but tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 24 November 2021 and 4 January 2022 and were suspected or confirmed to have the Omicron variant. We performed a descriptive analysis and calculated the reproduction number (R) for each generation using the branching process method. Genomic sequencing data were analysed to plot a haplotype network. Results: A total of 251 cases were analysed. The median age was 30 years, and 46% (115/251) were in their 20s or younger. The first Omicron case in Osaka was detected on 21 December 2021. Local public health centres conducted health monitoring and contact tracing. We analysed R, using information from six clusters, including 42 pairs with a clear relationship between the case and the infected contact (infector–infectee pairs); the clusters had 19, 21 and 2 cases in each subsequent generation. The basic R (t = 0) was estimated to be 3.2, and subsequent generations (t = 1, 2) of R decreased to 1.1 and 0.1, respectively. The haplotype network showed that these cases constituted a monophyletic group with others detected around Osaka, indicating that these case-related clusters had been contained and were not involved in the nationwide Omicron waves. Discussion: Active case finding and self-isolation were found to be effective in limiting the spread of an emerging novel variant.