Suga Urges People To Cooperate To Curb Infections
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has asked for the public's cooperation over the next three weeks to stem a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
In his comment on Thursday, Suga described the three weeks as an extremely crucial period.
He urged people to take basic precautions, such as wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding closed, crowded and close-contact settings.
The government plans to continue working with prefectural governments to curb the spread of the virus before the year-end and New Year's holiday when many hospitals are usually closed.
The government hopes steps such as asking restaurants to shorten their operating hours will be effective in preventing infections.
It says it has no objective evidence to suggest that its "Go To Travel" domestic tourism campaign has led to recent outbreaks.
But the government's advisory panel on its coronavirus response has proposed that trips from infection hotspots be excluded from the subsidy program.
Earlier this week, the government decided to suspend trips to the cities of Osaka and Sapporo from the campaign for three weeks.
New daily coronavirus cases are surging across the country. The number of COVID-19 patients in serious condition hit a record high on Thursday.
