Japan expands COVID-19 emergency sidewalks in Tokyo, other areas

TOKYO, Sept. 9 (Reuters) – Japan on Thursday extended COVID-19 emergency restrictions in Tokyo and other regions until later this month to curb infections and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Announcing the extension, previously ratified by an advisory committee, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said a still widespread medical system for serious cases needed to be strengthened, even as new infections fell and vaccinations increased.

“The inoculation of all those who want to be vaccinated will be completed in October or November,” Suga told reporters. “And from then on, we will be able to ease the restrictions by using vaccination tests or test results.”

Japan has been battling a fifth wave of the virus and last month extended its long-lasting edges until Sept. 12 to cover about 80 percent of its population.

The number of serious cases and pressure on the medical system have not been reduced enough in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow for the removal of restrictions. The measures will now extend until September 30, including for Osaka in the west.

Japan’s emergency sidewalks have focused on asking restaurants to close soon and refrain from serving alcohol. Residents are asked to work from home as much as possible and to refrain from traveling.

Some signs of improvement in Japan mean that two prefectures of 21 will move from the state of emergency measures to more specific restrictions and a number of other prefectures will remove all sidewalks.

“I think we are starting to see results, but it is still too early to lower our guard,” Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said.

INTERNATIONAL ENTRY RESTRICTIONS

The Nikkei newspaper reported that the government was making progress towards easing international entry restrictions by reducing quarantine times for vaccinated travelers. Keidanren, Japan’s main business lobby, and foreign chambers of commerce have urged the move.

“We welcome any proposal to reopen Japan’s borders on business travel, as part of a science-based approach to preserving public health,” said Christopher LaFleur, special adviser to the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

LaFleur said many of Japan’s most important trading partners allow vaccinated travelers to enter freely and force forty-day quarantines on those who have no shots and that it was “reasonable for Japan to adopt the same policy.”

Local media have reported that the government may allow restaurants to resume normal business hours and alcohol sales as vaccination approaches in October and November.

Authorities are studying plans to reward companies that maintain current infection controls, such as on-going traffic limits, or to encourage in-store inspections of vaccination status and testing.

About half of the population has been completely vaccinated in Japan.

New daily coronavirus infections in Tokyo totaled 1,834 on Wednesday. Japan has reported about 1.6 million cases and 16,436 deaths, but the mortality rate has declined in the latest outbreak. The 1% mortality rate compares with 1.6% in the United States and 1.9% in Britain.

Shigeru Omi, Japan’s top health adviser, said Wednesday that the fight against the pandemic was shifting to focus more on the threat of new viral variants or a possible decline in vaccine effectiveness.

Reports by Elaine Lies, Chang-Ran Kim and Rocky Swift; Edited by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Richard Pullin, Michael Perry and Timothy Heritage

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