JAPAN TIMES



 

The government lifted its COVID-19 quasi-emergency measures in Niigata, Nagano, Fukushima and 10 other prefectures on Monday, as new cases dip and the burden on regional medical systems comes under control.

Restrictions were lifted on operating hours at restaurants and bars and on the number of visitors to events. Curbs on club activities at schools were also eased in many regions.

The 13 prefectures included Mie, Wakayama, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kochi, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Kagoshima. The total number of prefectures under the quasi-emergency had hit 36 at one point but has now been reduced to 18.

Although the pace of decline in new cases has recently slowed nationwide, some local governments plan to implement infection control measures on their own even after the lifting of quasi-emergency designations.

Meanwhile, the government decided to extend its quasi-emergency for Hokkaido, Tokyo, Hyogo and 15 other prefectures for around two weeks until March 21.

The government had originally hoped to lift the measures in all of the prefectures following signs that Japan’s sixth COVID-19 wave had crested.

But some prefectures have recently been posting a rise in daily cases, as the “stealth” omicron subvariant, which is said to be more infectious than the original omicron, is gradually spreading in Japan. Experts say that new infections have decreased much more slowly in the current wave than in the previous one seen last summer.

“If there are signs that the situation surrounding infections worsens (due to the omicron subvariant), we will revise our measures,” Kishida said.