Abe Urges Further Efforts To Contain Virus Spread
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Wednesday called on people to continue their efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, two weeks after his declaration of a state of emergency.
Abe was speaking at a meeting of the government's coronavirus task force.
The prime minister thanked people for their cooperation in staying at home and avoiding closed spaces, crowded places, and settings with close face-to-face contact.
He noted that analysis by a government expert panel shows people's movements in urban areas have decreased by over 60 percent on weekdays and over 70 percent on weekends over the past two weeks, compared with movements before the outbreak.
Abe then called for further cooperation, such as promoting telework, to achieve the goal of reducing contact between people by 80 percent.
He also pointed out that the virus had apparently spread from urban to rural areas during the holidays in March. He requested people to stay home during the upcoming long holidays from late April, and to have video chats instead of traveling back to hometowns.
On the plan of 100,000 yen cash handouts to every person, Abe instructed the internal affairs minister to work with local governments and other relevant bodies to swiftly deliver the money.
Abe stressed that it is a crucial time now to end the crisis as early as possible, and told officials to do all they can for prompt implementation of the emergency economic package and early passage of a supplementary budget.
