Three Japanese prefectures in Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo will ask the central government to lift a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic in western areas by the end of the month, before the end date of March 7, officials said Monday.
The governors of the prefectures are holding an online meeting on Tuesday with Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economic Revival, who is leading the country’s response to the pandemic.
The governor of another prefecture, Aichi in central Japan, said he had already made a similar request to the central government.
The state of emergency, the second in Japan over the pandemic, was initially declared on January 7 for one month, which includes 11 prefectures including Tokyo and its nearby prefectures. It was later extended to March 7 for ten of the prefectures.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is wary of lifting the state of emergency in the capital, which still sees a ‘serious’ infection situation.
Koike also said she plans to hold an online meeting with the governors of the three nearby prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa on Tuesday.
Kyoto, Osaka and other prefectures that want to lift the state of emergency cite improvements in the number of hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients and the slow rate of infections.
“New cases of infection have remained at double-digit levels for days. (The state of emergency) should be lifted by the end of this month as we expect the number of patients admitted to hospital to drop further,” said Aichi government official Hideaki Omura. at a press conference.
Osof Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said his prefecture would discuss coordinated antivirus measures with neighboring prefectures Kyoto and Hyogo on Tuesday before submitting their official requests. Gifu Prefecture, adjacent to Aichi, also suggested that it follow suit.
Takatoshi Nishiwaki, governor of Kyoto, said that even if the state of emergency is lifted, the prefecture will continue to ask restaurants and bars to shorten working hours.
Japan has seen a decline in daily new coronavirus infections, but health ministry officials said last week that the reduction was not enough to ease concerns about tensions on the medical system.
Tokyo, which is still the hardest hit of the 47 provinces in Japan, saw a decline in new cases, with 178 reported on Monday, the first time the score has fallen below 200 since November 24 last year.
The score increased the cumulative business of the Japanese capital to 109,912.
The infection rate among the elderly, which is considered to be at greater risk of developing severe symptoms, is increasing, but daily deaths in the capital often amount to double figures.
