Lagatar24 Desk
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday said that the Japanese government will end this week the COVID-19 state of emergency. It will be done in Tokyo and 18 prefectures as well as the quasi-state of emergency in other areas will also end, as the number of infections declined steadily.
As per the schedule, Coronavirus advisory panel has approved a government plan to end the state of emergency and quasi-measures on Thursday. After April 4, this will be the first time that none of Japan’s prefectures is under a state of emergency or quasi-state of emergency.
“The number of new coronavirus patients has drastically decreased, so I understand the situation has been improving in that sense, but we must continue to be highly cautious and need to ease restrictions gradually, including for dining,” said PM Suga.
As winter approaches, Japan still has the risk of another wave of infection. Notably, due to a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, a state of emergency was declared for Tokyo on July 12, covering the full period of Olympics and Paralympics and consequently leading to few or no spectators at the venue.