Japan yesterday announced that it is extending a COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and nine other areas through March 7.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s announcement of the one-month extension comes amid growing uncertainty over the national rollout of vaccines and the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Under the state of emergency, the government has issued non-binding requests for people to avoid crowds and eating out in groups, and for restaurants and bars to close by 8pm.
Photo: AFP
New cases have declined in Tokyo and nationwide since early this month, but experts say hospitals remain flooded with serious cases and that preventive measures should remain in place.
Japan has had about 400,000 COVID-19 cases, including 5,800 deaths.
“We still need to keep a close watch on the situation,” Japanese Minister of Health Norihisa Tamura said.
About 80 percent of the cases in Japan are in the 10 prefectures under the emergency, he said.
The emergency is to end on Sunday as earlier planned in one prefecture, Tochigi , where the situation has improved. It is to remain in place in Tokyo and its neighbors Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as well as in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka in the west, and Aichi and Gifu in central Japan.
In addition to the request for bars and restaurants to close early, employers were asked to arrange for more of their staff to work from home.
Additionally, the government is to expand testing, officials said.
Unlike Japan’s first emergency in April and May last year, schools, gyms, theaters and shops remain open, although some stores are voluntarily closing early.
Suga has promised to secure enough vaccines to cover Japan’s entire population of 127 million by June, but none has been approved yet.
Japanese Administrative Reform Minister Taro Kono, who is in charge of COVID-19 vaccines, yesterday raised concern about the delayed distribution of European-made vaccines, saying Japan’s preparations have been affected by a lack of EU clarity.
“Our vaccine supply schedule has not been finalized even now,” Kono said.
Japanese officials hope to launch inoculations late next month with Pfizer vaccines, some of which are produced in the EU, starting with medical workers, then elderly people and others with underlying health conditions.
The general public is not expected to receive vaccines until around June, and obtaining “herd immunity” ahead of the Olympics in July is considered unlikely, especially in a country known for vaccine skepticism.
Suga has faced criticism for delaying anti-virus actions until late last month, when he finally suspended government-subsidized tourism and dining promotion campaigns.
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