Japan to decide on partial lifting of coronavirus emergency
TOKYO. KAZINFORM The Japanese government is set to decide Thursday a state of emergency should be lifted for 39 of the country's 47 prefectures ahead of its planned expiry at the end of this month as the spread of the novel coronavirus seems to have subsided.
Urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka, however, will likely remain under the state of emergency to ensure newly reported cases will continue to fall and the burden on hospitals will be eased, Kyodo reports.
Infectious disease and public health experts will analyze up-to-date data on the spread of the virus and the situation faced by hospitals.
Economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the total number of reported cases has been
falling in the 39 prefectures, adding that they have enough capacity to provide medical care.
«We believe it's appropriate to lift the state of emergency for the prefectures,» Nishimura told an advisory panel that will determine whether a lifting is warranted.
The 39 include five prefectures -- Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi, Fukuoka -- which were classified as requiring «special caution» due to their large number of coronavirus cases.
Those that are expected to remain under the state of emergency are Hokkaido, the Tokyo metropolitan area also encompassing Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, as well as Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo.
Following the panel's assessment, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will finalize his decision and explain it to the public during a press conference at 6 p.m.
He is being pressed to strike the right balance in preventing a reversal of the recent downward trend in daily reported cases and allowing economic activity to resume in stages.
Based on expert recommendations, the government has been encouraging people to adopt a new lifestyle without letting their guard down in what is now expected to be a protracted battle against the virus.