Japan to extend COVID-19 emergency lockdown as cases surge

A man wearing a protective mask rides a train in Tokyo, Japan on Aug 10, 2021 amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon

• PM to announce the curb extension later Tuesday
• Emergency restrictions will cover nearly 60% of the population
• Market loses profits due to fear of economic repercussions

FUKUOKA / TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Reuters) – Japan was scheduled to extend its state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions through September 12 on Tuesday, expanding the curbs to seven other prefectures amid COVID-19 cases in the capital and increasing across the country. stress the medical system.

The current state of emergency is slated to expire on August 31, but a sustained surge in coronavirus cases has fueled calls for an extension. Tokyo announced 2,962 new daily cases on Monday, up from a record of 5,773 on Friday.

The state of emergency will affect a little less than 60% of the population after the government adds Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures.

“Many experts expressed an extremely strong sense of crisis with regard to the medical care situation and the infection status,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Yasutoshi Nishimura after obtaining approval for the expansion from a panel of health advisors.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to officially announce the move on Tuesday. He will then hold a press conference at 9:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) to explain the decision.

Curbing the coronavirus includes asking restaurants to close early and stop serving alcohol in exchange for a government subsidy.

Concerns about the fast-spreading delta variant of the coronavirus detracted from positive results on Tuesday as the broad Topix (.TOPX) gave up gains only to slide deeper into negative territory after lunch.

The Dai-ichi Life Research Institute estimates in a report that the government’s extended and expanded state of emergency could result in total economic loss of about 1.2 trillion yen ($ 10.98 billion) and cut 66,000 jobs.

That was about 60% higher than an expected economic loss of about 750 billion yen if the emergency were kept on its current scale and schedule.

The technical advisors also approved the government’s plan to extend less stringent “quasi-emergency” measures to 10 more prefectures, Nishimura said.

Repeated states of emergency have only slowed the spread of the virus in Japan to a limited extent, as cooperation is voluntary.

Takuto Honda, a 20-year-old university student in southwestern Fukuoka who works part-time in a karaoke shop, said he thought a tougher lockdown with state payouts was more effective.

“If there is money to host the Olympics, there should be money to compensate us,” he said.

Pandemic fatigue and summer vacation have also been blamed for contributing to the recent COVID-19 surge in a country where only about 37% of people have been fully vaccinated.

($ 1 = 109.2900 yen)

Reporting by Sakura Murakami in FUKUOKA, Daniel Leussink in TOKYO; Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/08/17/japan-to-extend-covid-19-emergency-lockdown-as-cases-surge/