An increasingly serious spread of infections with the new coronavirus in Tokyo and six prefectures is behind Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision Monday that he will declare a state of emergency.
Through the emergency declaration based on the revised special measures law concerning new strains of influenza, Abe aims to put the brakes on infections while using an emergency stimulus package to lend a helping hand to people suffering from declining incomes due to reasons such as the restraint on business activity.
"The number of infected people is soaring mainly in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, and medical institutions are already facing a critical situation," Abe said to reporters Monday at the Prime Minister's Office, expressing a sense of urgency when he announced he would declare a state of emergency.
Before making the decision, Abe carefully watched the infection situation, especially in Tokyo. As of Monday, 1,116 people in Tokyo had tested positive for the virus, and more people are being infected via unknown routes.
To declare a state of emergency, it is necessary to meet two requirements specified in the special measures law: that the outbreak could cause serious damage to the lives and health of the people, and that rapid and nationwide spread of the epidemic could produce a significant impact on the daily lives of the people and the national economy.
In line with the issuance of the emergency declaration, the government will revise the Basic Policies for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control. Concerning the first requirement, a draft revision of the basic policies explains that the frequency of pneumonia is considerably high compared to seasonal flu infections. As for the second requirement, the draft points out that, along with a large number of cases with unknown infection routes, the surge in the number of infections increases the pressure on the country's medical care system.
The emergency declaration enables the governors of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka to request that residents refrain from going out for nonessential, nonurgent reasons, and to request or instruct that the use of facilities be restricted or suspended.
All these requests and instructions are not legally binding, but the central government expects the emergency declaration to help raise public awareness about the prevention of infections.
The special measures law, however, has no provision regarding compensation for damage such as that associated with restrictions on or the suspension of the use of facilities. To deal with this, the government will support small and midsize businesses and households hit with declining income with the emergency stimulus package to be compiled Tuesday in order to minimize the damage.
Meanwhile, once a state of emergency is declared, panic buying of daily necessities and other confusion could occur. In addition, if infected people return to family homes in regional area outside the seven prefectures following the issuance of the declaration, it could lead to a further spread of infections. To prevent this from happening, the government stipulates in the draft revision that, even though a state of emergency is declared, the government will not implement measures to considerably paralyze social functions as those associated with lockdowns do.
In addition, the draft revision says that if the country can work together to implement necessary measures, it is possible to make the situation better to put an end to infections with the coronavirus.
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