All of Japan's prefectures have called on residents to refrain from traveling to areas where infections of the new coronavirus are increasing, and 25 prefectures, or 53% of the total, have urged residents to avoid nonessential and nonurgent outings, according to figures collected by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency in seven prefectures. The Yomiuri's findings indicate that a sense of urgency over the coronavirus is growing even in areas not subject to the emergency declaration.
Tuesday's declaration covered Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures. Residents in these prefectures have been asked to refrain from leaving their homes, and not to travel between areas subject to the declaration.
All prefectures not covered by the declaration also are pressing residents to restrict their movements. On Wednesday, Kagoshima Gov. Satoshi Mitazono urged residents to refrain from going to the seven prefectures subject to the declaration. "We must protect elderly people and others who are especially vulnerable" to the coronavirus, Mitazono said.
Although Mitazono did not ask residents to refrain from leaving their homes, he did warn that people returning from the seven prefectures covered by the declaration could spread the virus. "I ask that people returning [to Kagoshima] self-isolate at home or other locations for two weeks," Mitazono said.
Yamagata Gov. Mieko Yoshimura also urged residents to exercise care. "There have been many cases of infection confirmed after residents had close contact with people from outside the prefecture," Yoshimura said at a press conference Tuesday. "I'd like people from outside the prefecture to avoid traveling here to attend memorial services and other events."
Governors of prefectures where coronavirus cases are increasing also are acting with urgency.
Ishikawa Prefecture has asked residents to refrain from visiting the seven prefectures covered by the declaration and also Hokkaido, Aichi and Kyoto prefectures, which have reported many coronavirus cases. "The number of cases in Ishikawa also has surged in the past week, so I would like to again call on residents to refrain from nonessential or nonurgent business trips and other outings," Ishikawa Gov. Masanori Tanimoto said.
At a press conference Tuesday, Okayama Gov. Ryuta Ibaragi urged residents of major urban areas who were considering a "corona evacuation" to his prefecture for holidays or other reasons to reconsider. "I want them to drop their plans. They will spread the virus around the whole country and worsen the situation for all of Japan," Ibaragi said.
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