Japan to expand COVID quasi-emergency to over 30 prefectures

Kyodo News Posted at Jan 24 2022 04:34 PM Japan will expand a quasi-state of emergency to over 30 of the country's 47 prefectures to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus infections after 16 more prefectures asked to be included under the measure, senior government officials said Monday. The government will formalize the decision Tuesday after consulting with an advisory panel of experts over its plan to adopt restrictions on restaurants and bars in more areas, in addition to Tokyo and 15 prefectures which already have been put under the restrictions. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold talks with related Cabinet ministers later Monday over the addition of more regions while discussing the duration of the measure after the nation's confirmed daily COVID cases hit a record 54,576 Saturday, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. "We will respond with well-balanced measures based on the nature of the Omicron strain by enhancing the procedural flow of prevention, detection and early treatment," Kishida told a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Monday. Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed at a press conference a number of prefectures requested the central government put them under a quasi-state of emergency, adding the government will respond swiftly. The planned government approval will come after the 16 prefectures, including the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo as well as Hokkaido in northern Japan, filed their requests with the government. In addition, Yamagata and Nagano prefectures are also preparing their own requests. A quasi-state of emergency was in effect in 16 prefectures as of Monday. If the central government approves the latest request, about two-thirds of the country's prefectures would be able to impose tighter anti-virus measures, allowing their governors to ask restaurants and bars to close early and stop or limit the serving of alcohol. The government is also considering extending the measure already in place in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Okinawa from Jan. 9 beyond the initially planned expiration date of Jan. 31, reflecting a high ratio of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in these areas. "We need to continue monitoring the situation carefully," Matsuno said. In the southern prefecture of Okinawa, Gov. Denny Tamaki expressed his intention to request the government extend the measure possibly to Feb. 20, saying the situation has not improved and has been straining the medical system. Though the area's expansion of infections seems to have hit a peak, "Patients with moderate to severe symptoms have been rapidly increasing especially among those aged 70 and over, leading to a shortage of hospital beds," Tamaki told a press conference. "If the measure is lifted now and infections spread again among young people, the local medical system will be unable to withstand" such strain, he said.

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