Japan declares a state of emergency in Tokyo through the Olympics due to the spread of the Corona virus

[ad_1]

TOKYO – Japan is set to put Tokyo on a state of emergency that will last until the Olympics, fearing that the ongoing COVID-19 wave during the Games will double.

In a meeting with experts Thursday morning, government officials proposed a plan to issue a state of emergency in Tokyo from next Monday to August 22. The Summer Olympics, which have already been postponed by a year due to the pandemic, will start on July 23 and end on August 8.

The games will already be played without foreign spectators, but a six-week state of emergency will likely end opportunities for local audiences. A decision on the fans is expected later Thursday when local organizers meet with the International Olympic Committee and other representatives.

Tokyo is currently subject to less stringent measures focused on shortening opening hours in bars and restaurants, but they have proven less effective in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will formally announce the contingency plans later Thursday, hours after International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach arrives in Tokyo. Bach must self-isolate for three days at the International Olympic Committee’s five-star hotel in the Japanese capital before heading to Hiroshima, where torrential rains and floods.

The upcoming state of emergency will be Tokyo’s fourth since the pandemic began and is a last-minute change of plan made late Wednesday after a meeting with experts who strongly cautioned against the government’s soft approach.

1 related

The main focus of the emergency is to order the closure of bars, restaurants and karaoke halls serving alcoholic beverages. Banning the serving of alcoholic beverages is an essential step to ease Olympic-related celebrations and prevent people from drinking and partying. Tokyo residents are expected to face requests to stay at home and watch games on TV from home.

“How to prevent people from enjoying the Olympics from going out for drinks is a major issue,” Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said.

Tokyo recorded 920 new cases on Wednesday, up from 714 last week and the highest since 1,010 on May 13. The figure is in line with previous expert estimates that daily cases in Tokyo could reach 1,000 before the games and could rise to the thousands in August. .

Noting that the early spring emergency came too late to prevent hospitals in Osaka from overcrowding patients, Kazuhiro Tateta, an infectious disease expert at Toho University, said no further delay should be allowed.

Ryūji Wakita, director general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, noted that two-thirds of Japan’s cases are from the Tokyo region and “our concern is the spread of infection to neighboring regions.”

Experts also noted that cases among unvaccinated young people are on the rise as Japan’s vaccination campaign loses steam due to uncertainty over supplies.

Only 15% of Japanese are fully vaccinated, which is low compared to 47.4% in the US and about 50% in Britain. Nationwide, Japan has had about 810,000 infections and about 14,900 deaths.

“The infections are in an expansion phase and everyone in this country should have a strong understanding of the severity of this,” Dr. Shigeru Omi, the government’s chief medical advisor, told reporters.

He urged authorities to crack down quickly ahead of the Olympics as the summer holiday approaches.

“The period from July to September is the most critical period for Japan’s actions on COVID-19,” Ohmi said.

.

[ad_2]