Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of COVID-19 measures, said Sunday the government will consider suspending alcohol sales at restaurants and other establishments as part of other options to strengthen measures against the novel coronavirus, in light of the recent increase in the number of people going out in Tokyo.
Tokyo and nine prefectures are currently under emergency-level priority measures. The government has allowed restaurants to stay open until 8 p.m. and serve alcohol until 7 p.m. under certain conditions.
"There have been conspicuous increases [in the number of new virus cases] in the Tokyo metropolitan area," Nishimura said in an NHK program. "We must consider even tougher measures, including the suspension of the serving of alcohol."
The minister stressed the importance and the need to secure hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, saying, "If necessary, we should be flexible enough to declare a state of emergency without hesitation in the areas currently under emergency-level priority measures."
Nishimura also indicated that he would consult with experts and send out relevant information on measures to deal with the flow of people expected during the summer vacation period.
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