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TOKYO: Japan is expected to lift the state of emergency for 39 of its 47 prefectures on Thursday (May 14), local media reported, while the capital Tokyo will maintain the restrictions until it sees compelling containment of the coronavirus.
The world’s third largest economy declared a state of emergency nationwide a month ago, urging citizens to reduce person-to-person contact by 80 percent in an effort to slow the pace of new infections and ease pressure. about medical services. The government had said it would reassess the situation in mid-May.
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The statement gives governors greater authority to tell people to stay home and close schools and businesses, but there is no penalty for noncompliance. Some non-core companies, even in the worst affected areas, have gradually reopened before the government review.
READ: From South Korea to Germany, new outbreaks as countries ease COVID-19 blocks
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, like leaders everywhere, strives to strike a balance between the damage to the economy from prolonged closings and the need to contain the virus. The government said this week it would add four economists to its advisory panel to fight the epidemic.
Japan has reported 16,100 confirmed cases of coronavirus, excluding those from a previously quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama, and 696 deaths to date from the disease it causes, COVID-19, according to NHK public broadcaster.
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While Japan has avoided the type of explosive growth seen in the United States and elsewhere, its tests have also been among the lowest, with 188 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests per 100,000 people, up from 3,159 in Italy and 3,044 in Germany.
Tokyo, the most affected, has conducted only 50,000 tests so far, of which around 5,000 were positive. With the hospitals still stretched, the capital and the surrounding prefectures will remain in a state of emergency.
READ: Over 90% of Tokyo Hospital Beds for COVID-19 Patients Full
Abe is scheduled to hold a press conference at 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Singapore time). The government is also expected to disclose criteria for ending and restoring the state of emergency, and local media said another review will take place again in about a week.
Although Japan’s state of emergency declaration lacks enforcement powers, mobility data has shown a marked decline in the movement of people.
The government this week reported a 20% drop in the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the nine days to May 7, to 4,449. In Tokyo, new cases fell to just 10 on Wednesday.
Osaka, Japan’s second-largest metropolis, will also remain a target of the state of emergency, but the governor has announced criteria to gradually lift some restrictions on businesses such as canteens and bars.
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