Government To Keep State Of Emergency In Place
Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi has suggested that the government will maintain the state of emergency to tackle the coronavirus for the time being, citing strains on medical systems.
Speaking to a meeting of an advisory panel on Friday, Nishimura said there is a need to keep the state of emergency, which has been in place for Tokyo, Osaka and eight other most affected prefectures since early January. The panel met to discuss planned revisions to the government's anti-coronavirus basic guidelines in line with the revised legislation for coronavirus special measures.
Nishimura, in charge of the COVID-19 response, said although the numbers of new infections are on a declining trend, the hospital and medical care systems remain under strain.
He cautioned that cluster infections are occurring particularly in care facilities for the elderly and the numbers of infections are not falling among the aged.
Nishimura vowed to continue to closely monitor the situation by sharing with prefectural authorities such data as the status of infections, availability of hospital beds and movement of people.
He said the government puts top priority on curbing the spread of the virus and bringing the epidemic under control as early as possible.
After the meeting, the panel's head, Omi Shigeru, said the lifting of the state of emergency should be considered in a comprehensive manner in view of the infection situation.
He also said the discussions centered on the emergence of mutated viruses. Omi stressed the need to take a robust response in epidemiological probes. He said the studies should cover even those without any symptoms in high-risk areas, and should be focused on finding epicenters quickly to hold down infections.