SAPPORO: The northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido plans to suspend the implementation of the Go To Travel campaign for its capital Sapporo, which is seeing a spike in coronavirus infection cases, in line with a central government policy of temporarily halting its demand-stimulating schemes related to the epidemic in some areas, it was learned Monday.

Senior officials of the prefectural government and the municipal government of Sapporo have started talks on the matter, apparently discussing possible requests they would make to the state, such as on the handling of travel cancellation fees.

In Sapporo, infections began to increase rapidly in late October, with a number of cluster cases reported. As more than 100 people have been newly confirmed positive for the virus in Sapporo a day recently, the medical system in the city has been increasingly tight.

Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki has raised the prefecture’s own coronavirus alert to Level 4 from Level 3 for Sapporo.

The prefecture has requested Sapporo residents to refrain from outings and trips outside of the city for nonessential purposes and residents in areas other than Sapporo not to make nonurgent trips to the city if the risk of infection is deemed unavoidable. Eating and drinking establishments in the Susukino entertainment district in Sapporo have been asked to shorten operating hours, among other measures.

Amid the growing spread of coronavirus infections in the nation, the Japanese government decided Saturday to review the operations of its Go To series campaigns in some areas, including the suspension of reservations under the Go To Travel program and the distribution of meal vouchers under the Go To Eat initiative.

JIJI Press