The coronavirus state of emergency, which has continued for about two and a half months, is expected to be fully lifted on Sunday. However, the number of newly confirmed cases has stopped falling, triggering concerns that infections may rebound. As the state of emergency comes to an end, the general perception is that not much has been achieved.
"The number of new cases and the hospital bed occupancy rate are moving in the right direction for the emergency to be lifted," said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday.
On March 7, the government extended the state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures for two weeks because hospital bed occupancy rates were at critical levels.
Although occupancy rates in all of the prefectures were in the second most serious "stage 3" (20% to less than 50%), Chiba Prefecture's figure was approaching "stage 4" as of March 2.
At the time, Suga said he wanted to secure "the required amount of time to carefully assess the situation" with the two-week extension.
To lower the hospital bed occupancy rate, the government focused on "increasing the number of hospital beds and reducing the number of inpatients," a Cabinet Secretariat official said.
As a result, the number of hospital beds as of March 10 had increased by 7 in Chiba Prefecture and 48 in Tokyo compared to a week before, while the number of inpatients had decreased by 89 in Chiba and 213 in Tokyo, paving the way for the lifting of the state of emergency.
Suga also paid close attention to the actions of the governors of the four prefectures. He kept in touch with his old acquaintance, Chiba Gov. Kensaku Morita, to frequently check on the status of infections.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike refrained from making public moves this time. Ahead of the previous two-week extension, she took the initiative in laying the groundwork with the governors of the three neighboring prefectures.
However, Morita and Kanagawa Gov. Yuji Kuroiwa later complained that they had been given inaccurate information.
Even though Suga is set to lift the state of emergency, the outlook does not appear to be particularly positive.
The fact that the number of new cases has stopped falling indicates that the heightened public awareness caused by the declaration waned as the emergency period dragged on.
There has been limited effect regarding restaurants closing early, which was positioned as key to containing infections.
"The effects of the state of emergency are fading, and people are starting to go out drinking," said an official in a meeting with Suga and other ministers on Tuesday.
The package of measures to be implemented by the government after the lifting of the state of emergency will only be an extension of existing measures, including the expansion of virus testing and the enhancement of the medical system.
A resurgence of infections is expected to occur during the season of graduation and entrance ceremonies. "A fourth wave will arrive before the long [Golden Week] holiday," a cabinet minister said.
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