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TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday (May 1) that the government will plan an estimated one-month extension of a state of emergency declared by the coronavirus pandemic.
Abe established an initial one-month state of emergency for seven regions on April 7, then expanded it to cover the entire country.
But with the measures expiring on May 6, Abe said he had instructed his minister about the virus outbreak, Yasutoshi Nishimura, to plan an extension.
“After receiving this report from the panel of experts, I asked Minister Nishimura to use extending the current framework of the state of emergency for approximately one month as a base scenario for the rapid drafting of plans that meet the needs of the regions,” Abe said. said.
He added that an expert panel that advises the government is reviewing the situation in different parts of the country.
“We will listen to their opinions and hope to make a decision on May 4.”
Abe said Japan has so far managed to avoid the sharp increase in infections seen in other parts of the world, but warned that surveillance is still needed.
“The experts’ opinion is that we will continue to need the cooperation of the Japanese people for the foreseeable future.”
An extension of the state of emergency was expected, despite the relatively small scale of the outbreak in Japan, with almost 14,300 reported infections and 432 deaths so far.
The state of emergency is significantly less restrictive than the measures observed in parts of Europe and the United States. It allows governors to urge people to stay home and ask companies to remain closed.
But officials cannot compel citizens to comply, and there are no penalties for those who do not.
Despite the relatively small scale of the Japan outbreak, there have been lingering fears about a spike in infections that could quickly overwhelm the country’s health system.
Medical associations have warned that hospitals are already very thin, and officials in Osaka have even asked for donations of raincoats to serve as protective gear for healthcare workers caught using trash bags.
Measures have been put in place to try to relieve the pressure, including sending coronavirus patients with mild symptoms to quarantined hotels, rather than keeping them in overcrowded hospitals.
The government has also said it is increasing testing capacity, but continues to face criticism for the relatively low number of tests being conducted, in part due to strict criteria.
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