4 Prefectures Set For Stricter Anti - Virus Measures
The Japanese government is expected to decide on Friday to allow Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Aichi prefectures to take stricter anti-coronavirus measures without declaring a state of emergency.
The government plans to approve its plans at a task force meeting after consulting with its expert panel and briefing the Diet. The intensive measures are expected to be applied from next Tuesday through May 11.
The governors will decide which areas to be covered in their prefectures. But arrangements are being made to target the cities of Saitama and Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, the cities of Ichikawa, Funabashi, Matsudo, Kashiwa and Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture, the cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki and Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, and the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture.
The government aims to urge people to refrain from nonessential travel across prefectural borders including during a major holiday period from late April through early May. It will also continue to call for thorough anti-infection measures at restaurants and bars.
The move comes amid the spread of new coronavirus variants that are said to be more transmissible.
The stricter measures are already in place for Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Okinawa and Miyagi prefectures.