NHK



 

The Japanese government has decided to expand and extend a state of emergency aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic. The highly contagious Delta variant is fueling a surge in cases nationwide.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide on Tuesday stressed the severity of the situation and pointed to the record 20,000 new infections reported last Friday.

Suga said, "We plan to comprehensively implement our measures, which fall under three pillars. They are: improving the medical system, preventing infections, and carrying out vaccinations."

He added that now is the time for stricter measures, and called on the public to cooperate.

The prime minister is calling for a drastic reduction in the flow of people, including a 70-percent cut in commuter footfall. He says this can be achieved through such measures as teleworking.

The state of emergency is the fourth since the start of the pandemic. It currently applies to Tokyo and five other prefectures.

Officials will add seven more, including Kyoto and Fukuoka, starting this Friday.

They will also increase the number of prefectures under intensive quasi-emergency measures from the current six to 16, starting Friday.

Officials in the affected areas will urge restaurants and bars to stop serving alcohol and impose stricter restrictions at shopping malls and events. Both the state of emergency and the quasi-emergency measures run through September 12.

The health ministry says the number of severely ill patients nationwide exceeded 1,600 as of Tuesday. The figure is a new record for the fifth straight day.

The government is preparing facilities such as oxygen stations to treat people whose conditions deteriorate.

It will also provide certain hospitals with two drugs used in a so-called antibody cocktail treatment. An overseas clinical trial shows it can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 70 percent.