Nightlife in Osaka. (Image via MATCHA)

Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo to ask for early state of emergency lift

On Monday, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo Prefectures in Japan want to ask the Central Government to lift the state of emergency over the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as soon as the end of February, despite the state of emergency is supposed to run until 7 March.

The Governors of these prefectures are scheduled to hold an online meeting with the Minister of Economic Revitalization and also in charge of COVID-19 response, Yasutoshi Nishimura. Not only Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo, but also the governor of Aichi and Gifu had proposed the same idea to the Central Government.

Under the state of emergency, second of its kind, the Japanese Government urged people to refrain from going out except for essential reasons, businesses such as bars and restaurants to cut their business hours, and limit the attendance capacity in large events. Initially announced on 7 January for one month in 11 prefectures including Tokyo and its vicinities, the state of emergency was extended to 7 March but for 10 prefectures.

The Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, stated that the end of the state of emergency in Tokyo is not considerable, since the COVID-19 condition there is far from over. Also on Tuesday, Koike is looking forward to an online meeting with the Governors of her neighbors from Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa.

For the prefectures aiming for the early state of emergency lift, they stated that the number of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients was increasing and the COVID-19 infections had been suppressed.

Governor of Osaka, Hirofumi Yoshimura, stated that the prefecture would discuss the anti-COVID-19 measures with Kyoto and Hyogo while preparing the official request. On the other hand, the Governor of Kyoto, Takatoshi Nishiwaki, promised that even though the state of emergency is lifted earlier, Kyoto will still ask the business to cut their business hours.

Source: https://bit.ly/3pM6Oky