TOKYO >> Japan on Wednesday extended a state of emergency for coronavirus to seven more prefectures, affecting more than half of the population amid an increase in infections across the country.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also said Japan would suspend quick access exemptions for business visitors or others with residence permits, and completely ban foreign visitors while the state of emergency exists.
Suga’s announcement comes less than a week after declaring a state of emergency for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures. The new declaration, which adds seven other prefectures in western and central Japan, takes effect on Thursday and runs until February 7.
“The serious situation continues, but these measures are indispensable to turn the tide for the better,” Suga told a news conference as he bowed as he sought public understanding.
He said he had placed the seven prefectures in urban areas under emergency to prevent infections from spilling over into smaller cities where medical systems are more vulnerable.
The government is asking bars and restaurants in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Tochigi to close at 20:00. Employers should let 70% of their staff work from home, and residents in the affected areas should avoid going out for insignificant purposes.
Suga has been criticized for acting too slowly, as the country’s reported coronavirus infections and deaths have nearly doubled in the past month to 300,000 and 4,100 respectively. Both emergencies were only declared after local leaders pleaded guilty.
Experts have warned that even the emergency declarations, which are non-binding and largely dependent on voluntary cooperation, may be insufficient to significantly slow down the infections.
Unlike Japan had seven weeks earlier in April and May last year, schools, gyms, theaters and shops remain open.
Suga was criticized for not acting strongly enough earlier in the outbreak. He mostly limited his interventions to the public to take basic safety measures, such as wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding drinking and eating in groups, until he finally announced the suspension of a government domestic tourism campaign. has.
Suga eventually took action after calls from local leaders, while its support ratings were shown in the polls showing that the public is increasingly dissatisfied with the handling of the virus. He also came under fire for attending an expensive steak dinner that had eight participants in mid-December.
Suga went into service in mid-September, promising to keep the infections under control while the economy gets back on track. He also promised to keep the Tokyo Olympics successful, which has been postponed from last year to next summer.
Despite the current increase in infections, Japan reported far fewer infections than many countries in its size.
Japan used to go through infections without exclusion, but experts and officials warn that people are getting tired and becoming less cooperative than before.
In an effort to enforce virus measures more effectively, Suga said he would seek a legal review in parliament next week to allow authorities to punish business owners who oppose official requests for coronavirus measures while legally compensating them. offers to those who comply. Suga’s government also plans to review the Infectious Diseases Control Act so it can punish patients who meet the requirements for self-isolation, hospitalization or collaboration with health authorities, according to Japanese media reports.
The president of Japan’s medical association, Toshio Nakagawa, said at a news conference on Wednesday that medical systems in the country are collapsing, with regular daily treatment in many hospitals due to the increasing burden of coronavirus patients.
“I’m afraid that a fear of explosive infections like in the US and Europe could become a reality,” he said, urging people to work together and regain their sense of crisis and urgency.
Japan already has a possible collapse of the medical system, as coronavirus treatment is largely concentrated in public hospitals in a country where most hospitals are privately run and not equipped for infectious diseases. Suga said the situation needs to be reviewed.
The government has provided financial support to hospitals that have admitted coronavirus patients while struggling to secure more beds as infections increase.
Tokyo officials facing a hospital bed for coronavirus treatment are considering converting three prefecture-controlled hospitals into centers for COVID-19 patients.
Japanese coronavirus measures rely heavily on widespread masking, contact detection, and other security measures. But the number of new cases in the current outbreak has made contact detection impossible, prompting Tokyo and neighboring prefectures to announce a cut in the strategy to ease the burden on local public officials.
Experts have also expressed concern about cases of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus that have spread across Britain. About thirty cases of the new variant have been detected since the end of December. Another variant was also detected in four people arriving from Brazil this week.