Japan looks to ease up, but African cases surge
TOKYO — As Japan prepares to ease coronavirus restrictions in some parts of the country, a growing number of businesses are planning to resume operations after monthlong shutdowns have brought economic activity to a grinding halt.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday that the government was looking at ways to bring some parts of the country out of lockdown measures as infections in several regions outside the main centers were reporting zero infections on a daily basis.
“The number of new infections of the coronavirus is significantly falling,” he told reporters. “There are more prefectures with no new coronavirus cases, so lifting the state of emergency is within sight.”
After lockdown measures led to a record contraction of Japan’s services sector last month, businesses have been resuming operations even as the coronavirus epidemic has sapped consumer demand.
Casual clothing chain Uniqlo reopened 48 stores in Japan on Thursday, including several large stores in Tokyo and Osaka, its owner Fast Retailing said, while Aeon Co, the region’s biggest supermarket operator, said it was reopening its Aeon Mall shopping centers.
Japan this past week extended its nationwide state of emergency to the end of May but said it would reassess the situation on May 14 and possibly lift the measures earlier for some prefectures.
As of Friday, Japan had confirmed 15,500 coronavirus infections in the country and 590 deaths.
In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is also considering plans for a phased resumption of businesses in the region’s biggest economy from as early as June 1, with the easing of lockdowns, a government document showed.
The proposals come as the country’s official death toll reached 930 — the highest in the region.
Shopping malls could reopen on June 8, with schools set to restart a week later, but only if new cases fall and testing targets are met, according to the plan set out in a document viewed by Reuters.
Evolving virus
Meanwhile, Africa is registering a surge in coronavirus infections, putting the continent on the spot as cases surpass 50,000.
From Nigeria in the west to South Africa and to Kenya in the east, cases are accelerating at an alarming rate as most countries engage in mass testing.
The African regional office of the World Health Organization said in its latest update that the disease had evolved since the first case was reported on Feb 14 in Egypt.
Since then, the virus has spread to more than 30 countries in less than a month, and it is now affecting all African states except Lesotho.
The WHO warned that the virus could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in Africa in the first year and infect between 29 million and 44 million over that time if it is not contained.