The state of emergency covering Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures is scheduled to run through Sunday, but Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has announced that an extension of about two weeks may be necessary.
The final decision on the length of any extension will be made Friday after the government consults with experts on the panel of basic policy measures.
"I understand the infection situation and the preparedness of the medical system have been examined by the central government," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said in response to Suga's announcement Wednesday. "The Tokyo metropolitan government basically agrees that an extension is needed. The national government and the four prefectures will work together to determine what form the extension should take to avoid a rebound in infections."
A Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry advisory panel on the novel coronavirus has warned that the rate of decline in the number of infections in the four prefectures has slowed and there are some cases in which the medical system has been strained.
While the government is in the final stage of deciding on a two-week extension of the state of emergency, the advisory panel compiled a summary on Wednesday stressing the importance of investigating the source of infections so that another surge can be prevented.
According to the ministry, the number of new infections per 100,000 people in the week through Tuesday was five nationwide, but 13 in Tokyo and 14 in Chiba Prefecture. The Tokyo and Chiba figures were just below the threshold of 15 for Stage 3, the second most serious level in the central government's pandemic index. The figures were nine in Saitama Prefecture and eight in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The occupancy rate of hospital beds secured for the peak of infection was at or around 20%, the Stage 3 threshold, in all four prefectures.
The advisory panel also warned that infection clusters that are difficult to uncover have occurred due to an increase in the number of people going out at night.
Enhanced measures at airport quarantine and surveillance systems were also necessary to prepare for the spread of coronavirus variants, which are said to be more transmissible, the panel said.
Panel chair Takaji Wakita, who is the director general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said, "There is a possibility that infection cases with the variants will increase when people are given more chances to come into contact with each other and relax their infection prevention measures."
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