- ARAB NEWS
- 20 Apr 2024
Since 1975
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio said Monday that his government is not considering declaring a COVID-19 state of emergency for Tokyo at least for now.
Kishida made the remarks to reporters about the government’s response to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Tokyo and 33 other Japanese prefectures are currently in the COVID-19 pre-emergency stage.
The prime minister indicated that the government will attach importance to cases with severe symptoms in monitoring the COVID-19 situation.
Hospital beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients were full in Tokyo in August last year, but the occupancy rate was 37.6 percent at present, he said.
The occupancy rate of hospital beds for overall COVID-19 patients has been close to 50 percent in Tokyo, the threshold for the metropolitan government to seek a state of emergency.
JIJI Press
