Japan calls for Tokyo state of emergency declaration as COVID-19 cases surge (updated)
07/01/2021 01:18
TOKYO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The Japanese government on Thursday
proposed declaring a one-month state of emergency, beginning
Friday, for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures in a bid to
contain a surge in new coronavirus cases, now running at record
levels.
Ahead of a meeting with advisers, Economy Minister Yasutoshi
Nishimura laid out the government's proposal to call for the
state of emergency for the four prefectures from Jan. 8 to Feb.
7. Restrictions centre on measures to combat transmission at
bars and restaurants, cited by the government as key risk areas.
Though still less seriously affected by the pandemic than
many countries around the world, Japan saw new daily infections
top 6,000 for the first time on Wednesday, according to public
broadcaster NHK, led by 1,591 positive tests in the capital,
Tokyo. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JH178
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold a news conference at
6 p.m. (0900 GMT) to formally announce the decision and curbs to
be imposed in Tokyo and the neighbouring Saitama, Kanagawa and
Chiba prefectures. But medical experts have said they fear the
government's plans might be inadequate, with new cases hitting
highs around the country.
Government officials have been in talks with experts this
week to assess steps to try to bring the surge under control -
with as little damage as possible to the economy.
With an eye on the looming Tokyo Olympics and the fragile
state of the world's third-biggest economy, Suga has favoured
limited restrictions.
Economy Minister Nishimura said on Thursday that measures to
be included in the state of emergency from Friday mean asking
restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m., requesting that
residents refrain from non-urgent outings, and limiting
attendance at sporting and other big events to 5,000 people.
Prime Minister Suga has said state-of-emergency measures
this time would centre on shortening operating hours for
eateries and bars, where experts say the risk of transmission is
high. That had helped bring cases down in regions such as Osaka
and Hokkaido, Suga has said.
But in a worrying sign, Osaka on Wednesday reported new
cases easily topped their previous record, with 560 infections,
while Hokkaido saw cases surpass 100 for the first time in a
week.
"Depending on the way infections spread from here on, we may
need to think about a state of emergency nationwide," Toshio
Nakagawa, president of the Japan Medical Association, told a
news conference on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228;))