Tokyo set to declare state of emergency
TOKYO: After days of record coronavirus counts and a rapidly rising death toll, Japan said it would declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures yesterday, the country’s first such declaration since April.
The announcement came five days after governors from the affected prefectures had pleaded with the central government to act, and after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s own coronavirus expert panel had recommended the emergency declaration, citing explosive growth in infections in the vast capital region.
Deaths from the virus in Japan have doubled in less than two months, passing 3,700, and Tokyo’s governor has warned that the medical system is under stress. Mr Suga had hesitated to invoke the emergency measure, hoping to preserve economic activity, but eventually bowed to the pressure from the Tokyo-area officials, as polls show widespread dissatisfaction with his four-month-old administration and its handling of the pandemic.
Mr Suga’s foot-dragging illustrated the difficult choices many world leaders face nearly a year into a pandemic that is now entering a gruelling new phase, with widespread vaccinations still months away. They are under pressure to bring down rising caseloads despite public fatigue over virus restrictions, while also breathing life back into their economies.
Health experts warned that the emergency declaration, which will last one month, still might not be enough to turn the tide.
Restaurants in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures are to close by 8pm, staff members encouraged to work from home, and residents to refrain from going out for all but the most essential tasks.