Japan extends coronavirus crisis to seven more prefectures, affecting more than half of the population as diseases spread across the country
TOKYO – Japan extended the coronavirus crisis to seven other prefectures on Wednesday, affecting more than half of the population amid an increase in infections across the country.
Prime Minister Yoshide Suga also said Japan will suspend fast business entry permits, banning foreign visitors while the emergency situation is in place.
The news at Suga comes less than a week after it announced a state of emergency for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures. The new declaration, which will include seven other prefectures in western and central Japan, comes into effect Thursday and lasts until February 7th.
The government is urging bars and restaurants in the prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Tochigi to close before 8pm, employers that 70% of their employees work from home and employees. residents in the affected areas avoid going out for nonessential reasons.
It has been criticized that Suga wants to be slow to double the number of reported coronavirus diseases and deaths in the country over the past month to about 300,000 and 4,100. Both states of emergency were declared just after local leaders appealed to him.
Experts have warned that even a state of emergency measures, unrelated and heavily dependent on voluntary cooperation, may not be enough to slow down the diseases.
Unlike Japan ‘s last seven – week crisis in April and May last year, schools, gyms, theaters and shops will remain open.
Suga has defied criticism for not taking strong enough action from the government earlier in the revolution. He limited his intervention to asking the public to take basic safety measures such as wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding drinking and dinner in groups until mid-December, when which finally announced the suspension of a government-subsidized tourism enterprise.
Suga eventually took action following calls from local leaders, while his support ratings were falling in censuses indicating public dissatisfaction with his handling of the virus. .
Suga took office in mid-September and pledged to control the diseases while getting the economy back on track. He also promised to hold the Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed last year until this coming summer.
Despite the current rise in diseases, Japan has reported far fewer diseases than many countries of its size.
Japan has made it through earlier attacks in non-locked diseases, but experts and officials warn that people are becoming obese and not becoming as cooperative as they were before.
In an effort to implement virus measures more effectively, Suga has said it will call for a legal review in parliament next week to allow authorities to penalize business owners who denying official requests for coronavirus measures, while at the same time providing compensation to those who comply. The Suga government also plans to review the infectious disease control law so that it can punish patients who violate the requirements of self-isolation, hospitalization or cooperation with health authorities, media reports Japanese says.
The President of the Japan Medical Association, Toshio Nakagawa, said at a news conference Wednesday that the country’s medical systems have been falling apart, with regular daily treatment at many hospitals being disrupted by a burden that is increased in coronavirus patients.
“I fear that fears of explosives such as those in the US and Europe may arise,” he said, urging people to co-operate, regaining their sense of urgency. and crisis.
Japanese coronavirus measures have relied heavily on extensive mask wear, contact detection and other safety measures. But the number of new cases in the current uprising has made communication impossible, forcing Tokyo and neighboring prefectures to announce a cutback on the strategy to provide relief to the burden on local public health officers.
Experts have also raised concerns about cases of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has spread across Britain. About 30 cases of the new variant have been detected since late December. Another variant was also found in four Brazilian arrivals this week.