Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will declare a state of emergency today in parts of the country, including Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, the western hub of Osaka, Hyogo and the southwestern of Fukuoka over an increased infection of coronavirus.
“I have decided that a situation gravely affecting people’s life and the economy have occurred. This evening, I plan to call a government headquarters meeting and declare a state of emergency,” Abe said Tuesday. He announced the plan a day earlier, citing “rapid increases of new infections.”
The declaration is expected to take effect from midnight and the people will be asked to stay indoors and businesses to be temporarily shutdown. The measure came after there has been a report of 143 cases on Sunday in Tokyo alone.
Doctors in the capital warned this week that the city was already in “critical condition”, with hospitals stretched thin.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who has pushed for the emergency declaration, urged residents on Tuesday to cooperate with requests to limit movement.
“It may cause inconvenience in daily life, but I call for everyone’s cooperation because lives are at stake,” she told reporters.
WRITER: AFP
Source: Bangkok Post
