Japan to expand and extend state of emergency
By New Straits Times - May 7, 2021 @ 12:05pm
JAPAN plans to expand the ongoing state of emergency beyond Tokyo and the Osaka areas and also extend it to the end of May.
The minister in charge of the government's coronavirus response Yasutoshi Nishimura said Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures will also be placed under the Covid-19 emergency from Wednesday until May 31.
The emergency was initially slated to end next Tuesday but rising number of cases has made the extension inevitable.
The government is also set to extend a quasi-state of emergency covering Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Ehime and Okinawa prefectures to the end of May and add Hokkaido, Gifu and Mie.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Japan expected to lift emergency in six prefectures
Japan to declare Covid state of emergency in Tokyo region
Sabah gov't supports State of Emergency move
Finland declares state of emergency as Covid cases rise
Miyagi, which has seen a fall in Covid-19, will be removed from the list.
According to Kyodo News, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to finalise the decision after getting approval from experts in infectious diseases and other fields.
The state of emergency has been in place in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo since April 25, with targeted steps aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus during the Golden Week holidays.
Japan is also set to host the Summer Olympics in less than three months.
Under the emergency, restaurants and bars have been prohibited from serving alcohol or offering karaoke services and need to close by 8pm.
Errant operators face fines of up to 300,000 yen (US$2,750) for noncompliance.
Services on public transportation have also been scaled down, and businesses are being encouraged to implement work from home scheme for employees.
The emergency restrictions include requests for department stores and movie theaters to temporarily close.
Suga had said that the state of emergency, the third since the start of the pandemic, has been successful in reducing the number of people out and about.
However, a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare panel warned that infections have continued to increase nationwide, partly due to highly contagious Covid-19 variants.
Japan registered 4,375 new infections on Thursday and it is 27 per cent lower from the height of the fourth wave last Saturday.
However the fall could be attributed to less testing during the Golden Week holidays in Japan.
Osaka reported 747 new infections on Thursday, down 40 per cent from last Saturday. Tokyo reported 591 new infections, while Hyogo logged 281 and Kyoto saw 130 cases.