TOKYO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called on residents in the capital to reduce their daily shopping to "around once in three days" in a bid to avoid crowding at supermarkets and shopping districts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At a press conference, Koike also urged store operators to limit the number of shoppers by making available fewer shopping baskets, set priority hours for older customers, post store congestion information on social media, stop offering time-limited special deals and expand the space for customers to place purchased items in bags.

"I want to work together with industry groups to keep three 'Cs' from overlapping," the governor said, underscoring the importance of not creating a situation in which people have close contact with others in closed, crowded places.

She also said the metropolitan government plans to provide local retailers' associations financial incentives for voluntary business suspension and set up a subsidy system to promote their efforts to prevent overcrowding.

At the news conference, Koike announced an agreement with governors of the three neighboring prefectures -- Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa -- to carry out a thorough campaign against the coronavirus outbreak during the Golden Week holiday period from Saturday to May 6, calling it the "Stay Home Week to Protect Lives."

Specifically, residents in the metropolitan area will be urged not to make trips to other prefectures and companies will be asked to have their employees take 12 consecutive days off, she noted.

As its own initiative, the Tokyo government will call for restraint in visiting parks under its administration and close their parking areas and playgrounds, Koike said, adding the municipal governments in the capital will be requested to follow suit.

The metropolitan government also plans to stream exercises and games that can be done at home.

"I'm concerned about an increase in opportunities for people to have close contact with others and spread the infections further during the long holiday period," Koike said.

JIJI Press