Tokyo Metropolitan Area Enters First Weekend After State of Emergency is Fully Lifted
People in the Japanese capital of Tokyo and neighboring prefectures on Saturday enjoyed their first weekend since a state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic was completely lifted, with department stores and restaurants reopening to welcome customers after closing for nearly two months.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday lifted a state of emergency in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Hokkaido as the spread of infections of COVID-19 in these areas was under control, entirely ending the emergency in all of the country’s 47 prefectures. In the popular shopping and entertainment area of Shibuya in central Tokyo, crowds were noticeably bigger on Saturday, with many people cautiously visiting restaurants and shops that have reopened for the first time in weeks. Shoppers and staff were required to wear masks when entering department stores and other shops. Meanwhile, floor markings reminded people to maintain social distance.
A 50-year-old female customer who went shopping with her daughter said: “I don’t go out much because I’m worried about catching the coronavirus. However, I come to buy things today because it’s a rare weekend. I will take proper measures to prevent infection.”
A 27-year-old female passer-by told local media that she was going to have lunch at a friend’s house located in the Shibuya area. “I stayed at home for two months. As the number of COVID-19 cases in Tokyo continues to rise, I feel a bit uneasy. I will wash my hands frequently when I go out,” she said.
On Takeshita street, the epicenter of teen fashion and entertainment in Tokyo usually bustling with young people and tourists, fashion and other stores reopened. With many young people and their families coming to shop and walk, the street is lively again.
At a popular dessert shop which reopened after two months, staff provided free disinfectant and plastic gloves to costumers. A female costumer who came to the shop with her daughter said: “We haven’t gone shopping for a long time as required by the government. Today I feel happy after shopping.”
Tokyo will enter the “Second Phase” next Monday despite a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in the capital, which will allow cinemas, sports gyms, cram schools and retail stores other than those selling daily necessities to restart. In the second phase, as with the first, restaurants and bars will still be requested to not serve alcohol after 10 p.m.
According to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Saturday, the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 45 to reach 16,878.
The number excludes the 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo. Meanwhile, the death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 907 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the cruise ship.
In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan’s outbreak, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased by 14 to reach 5,231, followed by Osaka Prefecture with 1,782 infections.
Kanagawa Prefecture, meanwhile, has recorded 1,361 infections, Hokkaido 1,085 cases, Saitama 1,001, Chiba 901, while Hyogo Prefecture has recorded 699 cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures on Saturday.
The health ministry said there are currently a total of 124 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators or in intensive care units.
The ministry also said that in total, 14,406 people, including 654 from the cruise ship, have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved.