Japan Decides COVID-19 Pre-Emergency for 3 Prefectures

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government Friday decided to put the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa and the western prefectures of Yamaguchi and Hiroshima in a COVID-19 pre-emergency stage. In the three prefectures, novel coronavirus measures under the pre-emergency designation, based on the special law on the fight against the virus, will be in place from Sunday to Jan. 31. The decision was made at a meeting of the government's coronavirus response headquarters. COVID-19 cases have been surging again in the three prefectures, apparently due to the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. On Friday, Okinawa reported a record 1,414 new infection cases, up by about 40 pct from the previous day. Nationwide, over 6,000 cases were confirmed for the first time since September last year. "We need to deal swiftly with the spread of infection in the three prefectures," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the meeting. But the government stopped short of applying pre-emergency measures to Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, where new cases are soaring. Japan fully lifted its most recent COVID-19 pre-emergency and stricter state of emergency designations at the end of September last year. It is the first time for Kishida's administration to decide a coronavirus pre-emergency designation since its launch in early October 2021. Prefectures in a pre-emergency stage can take strict coronavirus measures in designated areas. In Okinawa, the whole of the prefecture will be put in the stage, while in Yamaguchi and Hiroshima, some municipalities will be covered. In view of the rapid spread of the omicron variant, the central government changed its basic coronavirus response policy to allow governors of prefectures in pre-emergency status to stop eateries and bars from serving alcohol even if they are certified as having appropriate infection control measures. The revision also makes it possible for governors to introduce an additional blanket testing requirement, on top of the existing requirements under the so-called vaccine and testing package aimed at easing coronavirus restrictions. Economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa told a parliamentary meeting that the omicron variant is spreading especially fast in the three prefectures and that medical care systems would be severely strained if the current pace continues. On a view that the omicron variant is less likely to cause severe symptoms, Yamagiwa said the government has to act in the most cautious way due to a lack of data on how the variant affects elderly people and people with underlying conditions. In November last year, the government introduced a new five-tier alert system putting emphasis on medical availability, not on the number of new infections as prioritized previously. The government uses the system to consider whether to make emergency or pre-emergency declarations. The three prefectures fall within Level 2, the third-worst stage on the new scale. Tokyo and Osaka, currently rated Level 1, are not in a situation requiring pre-emergency measures given the occupancy rates of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, Yamagiwa said. Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima will tighten infection control measures, including by requesting eating and drinking establishments to close early. At a news conference in Naha, Okinawa's capital, Governor Denny Tamaki expressed a strong sense of crisis amid the unrelenting increase in new cases. "If infection spreads further, we'll have to consider a shift to a state of emergency," he said. END