GEIS-新闻详情

Japan government plans to extend coronavirus emergency to Sept 30

2021-09-09 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-亚洲原网页

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - The Japanese government plans to extend the virus emergency for Tokyo and large parts of the country by more than two weeks beyond the current Sunday (Sept 12) expiration as high levels of Delta variant-infections continue to put strain on the medical system.

The government is seeking to extend the state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and 17 other prefectures until Sept 30, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told an advisory panel Thursday (Sept 9).

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is set to make the formal announcement of the extension later in the day and will give a news conference at 7pm, local time (6pm, Singapore time).

"If the number of new infections continues to fall at the current rate and we bolster the health care system, the strains on medical care are expected to ease greatly by the end of the month," Mr Nishimura said.

There are also plans to gradually normalise the economy with the use of vaccine certificates even in areas under state of emergencies, NHK said in a separate report.

Restrictions on restaurants and bars would be eased if they are certified, while fully vaccinated people won't be discouraged from domestic travel, it said.

The extension comes about a week after Mr Suga announced his resignation following a drop in public support as he struggled to contain the surge in cases to record levels.

His replacement faces the tricky task of balancing efforts to rein in the virus against the need to support the economy and chart a way forward for normalising activity.

Across Japan, 21 prefectures and areas are currently under a state of emergency and the measures cover more than 70 per cent of the population.

The states of emergency, which have few legal teeth, have become less effective in changing people's behaviour over time. Many bars and restaurants are ignoring instructions to close early and stop serving alcohol, despite the threat of fines.

Cases in Tokyo have fallen from a peak of 5,773 on August 13 to 1,834 on Wednesday. While the numbers have dropped from records, they are still at some of their highest levels during the entirety of the pandemic.

Japan was slow out of the gate with its vaccination programme but the country has been picking up speed, with 48 per cent of its population now fully vaccinated. This compares to 53.8 per cent in the US, which started its programme several months earlier.