TOKYO (AP) – Japan began its first day in a state of emergency with a coronavirus on Friday, with much of life as usual, including morning commuter trains carrying crowds of masked people at busy stations.
Premier Yoshihide Suga reiterates his call for restaurants to shorten business hours and for people to work from home.
“We take it very seriously. “I want to overcome this difficult situation with the cooperation of the people,” Suga told reporters.
The state of emergency lasts until February 7. The statement calls for restaurants and bars to close at 8pm while drinks will not be served after 7pm
It applies to Tokyo and the three surrounding prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.
Nationwide confirmed COVID-19 cases reached about 260,000, with more than 7,500 new cases reported on Friday.
“Contamination is the highest ever in every region of the country,” Suga said.
Suga promised legal revisions, including allowing fines and other measures to give the requests more power. They will be studied in parliament later this month.
The statement is expected to have some impact on conformist Japan. Some companies were not able to work remotely, and the state of emergency could help workers make their wishes to stay at home come true.
But most of life will remain the same, with schools, sporting events, shops and movie theaters open, but with social distance and measures. Crowds are expected to get thinner at night.
The previous state of emergency, which was declared last April and May, although wider in scope and area, had an effect on limiting the spread of COVID-19.
The number of daily cases in Tokyo rose and reached a daily record of 2447 on Thursday. According to officials, the goal is to lower them to 500.
Like many other Tokyo residents, Kazue Kuramitsu was already pessimistic about how long it would take for things to return to normal.
“Today we are basically one month in a fight. But I do not think the distribution will stop, “she said.
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Associated Press video journalist Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.
Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HarukaNuga and Yuri Kageyama at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama