Tokyo, Jul 8 (UNI) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday announced a fresh COVID-19 state of emergency in the country's capital for the duration of the upcoimg Olympics Games, in an effort to curb a recent surge in infections.
Suga said the state of emergency would go into effect on Monday and last through August 22, Kyodo News agency reported.
The decision means the Olympics Games, opening on July 23 and running through August 8, will be held entirely under emergency measures.
"We must take stronger steps to prevent another nationwide outbreak, also considering the impact of coronavirus variants," Suga said after finalizing the decision to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo.
It will be Tokyo's fourth state of emergency since the start of the pandemic early last year, with the government set, in principle, to prohibit restaurants from serving alcohol and maintain its request for them to close by 2000 hrs.
While areas under the quasi-state of emergency are also technically subject to the alcohol ban, the governors of such prefectures can relax the rule.
"We are hoping to keep people from moving around during the summer break and the Bon holidays until vaccinations move further along," Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the nation's COVID-19 response, told a panel of experts.
The Japanese PM said if the situation improves as more people get shots and the strain on the medical system eases, the government will consider lifting the state of emergency early.
The government had initially planned to keep the capital under a quasi-state of emergency but was forced to change course due to the sharp rise in infections.
On Wednesday, the Tokyo metropolitan government reported 920 new coronavirus cases, the most since mid-May at the peak of Japan's fourth wave and topping the figure from a week earlier for the 18th straight day.
UNI AVK SHK1704