Japan has again declared a state of emergency for the greater Tokyo area due to the sharp rise in new CoV infections. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced this today.
The measure, which will apply from tomorrow to February 7th, is not a lockdown: The people of Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa should stay at home and, above all, not go out after 8 p.m.
Restaurants and bars should not serve alcohol from 7 p.m. and close at 8 p.m. Unlike in other countries, however, the emergency in Japan does not provide for penalties for violations.
View of Olympic Games
A few months before the planned Olympic Games in Tokyo, the number of new infections in the Japanese capital recently rose to a record. For the first time, more than 2,000 cases were registered within one day. Only the day before the number had climbed above the 1,500 mark for the first time. The preparations for the summer games should continue, Suga said at the beginning of the week.
Japan last called a state of emergency in Tokyo in April last year, which was later extended to the entire country and lifted again at the end of May. Recently, however, the number of infections has risen sharply again, especially in the Tokyo area. There is increasing concern about health system overload.
