Hokkaido Prefecture announced a new state of emergency for COVID-19. (Image via The Travel Intern)

Hokkaido declares a new state of emergency

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
News Flash Japan
Apr 13, 2020
1773
The island of Hokkaido issued another state of emergency on Sunday. The declaration was the second, the first being in late February, made after seeing the pace of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection is catching up.

In Tokyo itself, the number of COVID-19 positive cases topped 2,000 even though Tokyo and six other prefectures have been living the first weekend under a state of emergency by the declaration of the Japanese government. On Sunday, 166 new cases were confirmed in Tokyo, totaling to 2,068.

The state of emergency means that the Japanese residents should refrain from going out for non-essential reasons, and businesses to shut down for a moment. The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, declared a state of emergency on 7 April in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka.

On Saturday last week, Abe urged the governors of the 47 prefectures to urge their residents to stay indoors.

While the northernmost island is not included in the state of emergency’s list, the government of the prefectural capital, Sapporo, issued a joint emergency declaration after reports of double-digit increases in COVID-19 infections for five consecutive days.

Previously on 28 February, Hokkaido had issued a state of emergency and lifted it on 19 March following the alleviation of COVID-19 cases in the prefecture, a popular tourist destination.

With the state of emergency, the schools in Hokkaido, having been opened on 6 April, will be closed again starting Tuesday through 6 May. The travel to and fro Sapporo will also be restricted by the declaration.

Source: https://bit.ly/2V2S04X

Politics , Regulation , Medical , Health , Pandemic , Coronavirus , COVID-19 , Asia , Japan , Hokkaido , Sapporo