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Japan expands COVID-19 state of emergency

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27 Aug 2021 02:08:41 GMT9
27 Aug 2021 02:08:41 GMT9

TOKYO: The government placed eight more prefectures under its COVID-19 state of emergency on Friday as Japan struggles with the spread of the highly infectious delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

The government also designated four more prefectures for its less strict pre-emergency measures.

The designations will run through Sept. 12, as will the ongoing emergency and pre-emergency measures that have been introduced earlier.

The focal point is whether the government will be able to pave the way for lifting the designations in only two weeks from now by easing the strains on the medical care system, pundits said.

The eight prefectures newly added to the state of emergency list are Hokkaido, Miyagi, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Okayama and Hiroshima.

As a result, the number of areas on the list grew to 21, including Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture, while the pre-emergency now covers 12 prefectures, including newly added Kochi, Saga, Nagasaki, and Miyazaki.

With the delta variant raging in many parts of the country, experts believe that new infection cases are unlikely to decline sharply anytime soon.

Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide has said his government plans to decide whether to end the emergency and pre-emergency measures by monitoring chiefly progress on COVID-19 vaccinations, the number of severely ill coronavirus patients and the occupancy rates for hospital beds for coronavirus patients.

The government will boost efforts to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations and strengthen the medical care system in a bid to contain the epidemic, officials said.

Suga visited a vaccination venue in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward on Thursday.

“The ward is making the fastest progress in Tokyo on coronavirus vaccinations,” Suga told reporters.

The government has set a target of completing second COVID-19 shots for people in Japan in October or early November, he said.

Eateries in areas under the state of emergency are asked to stop serving alcohol, while those in the pre-emergency stage are requested to refrain from providing alcohol in principle.

Large-scale commercial facilities are requested to limit the number of visitors. Businesses are asked to reduce commuters by promoting remote work.

JIJI Press

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