Japan to extend COVID-19 state of emergency lockdown to Sept. 12 - NHK (updated)
16/08/2021 05:43
(Adds details on length, scope of emergency curbs)
TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The Japanese government is set to
extend its state of emergency soft lockdown measures in Tokyo
and other regions to Sept. 12 and expand the curbs to seven more
prefectures, public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday.
The current state of emergency is due to expire on Aug. 31,
but a continuing surge in coronavirus cases has spurred calls to
extend it. Tokyo announced 2,962 new daily cases on Monday,
after a record 5,773 on Friday.
The government will expand the state of emergency curbs to
the prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto,
Hyogo and Fukuoka, the public broadcaster said.
It will also expand less strict "quasi-emergency" measures
to four additional prefectures - Miyagi, Yamanashi, Toyama and
Gifu - to cover more regions of the country, Jiji news agency
reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters
earlier on Monday that the government will seek the view of
experts on emergency and less strict "quasi-emergency" curbs for
all regions on Tuesday, without giving more details.
Though the Japanese government has instituted repeated
states of emergency, their effectiveness has been limited due to
laws mandating that the government can only request cooperation.
Pandemic fatigue and summer vacations have also been blamed
for contributing to the latest COVID-19 surge in a nation where
only around 36% of people have been fully vaccinated.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Daniel Leussink; Editing by
Christian Schmollinger, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
((elaine.lies@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2748; Reuters
Messaging: elaine.lies@thomsonreuters.com))