The current state of emergency will remain in place for Tokyo and all nine other applicable prefectures, at least for the time being, the government has informed senior officials of the ruling parties. Although the government initially considered lifting the state of emergency in some areas, their decision to carry on reflects the need for continued countermeasures as hospital bed occupancy rates remain strained amid the ongoing pandemic.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Norihisa Tamura, Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, and other cabinet members relevant to coronavirus measures at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday evening. During this meeting, it was decided that the current policies would be left in effect for the time being.
At a liaison meeting between the government and the ruling parties held earlier that day, the prime minister had said, "Hospital bed occupancy rates have remained high in many areas. We will carefully analyze the daily situation and heed expert opinion to determine the necessary response," he said, emphasizing his cautious stance.
The government had been preparing for the prime minister's press conference with an eye for lifting the state of emergency in Aichi and Gifu prefectures before the revised special measures law to cope with new strains of influenza comes into effect on Saturday. The revised law aims at strengthening measures against the coronavirus.
However, according to data compiled by the Cabinet Secretariat as of Tuesday, hospital bed occupancy in Aichi Prefecture was at 51%, remaining at Stage 4, the most severe rank in Japan's four-tier coronavirus alert system. The occupancy rate in Gifu Prefecture remained largely unchanged, at Stage 3. Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka prefectures also remained at Stage 4.
Although headway has been made to bolster the healthcare system, such progress has been more incremental than the government had hoped. Ultimately, the government concluded that "it would be better to continue with the state of emergency until [the numbers] come down completely," according to a high-ranking official familiar with the discussions.
The focus will be on controlling the number of new cases by thoroughly implementing measures under the state of emergency, hoping to see a reduction in the number of hospitalized and seriously ill patients.
The government envisions partially lifting the state of emergency on a rolling basis if the situation improves before the March 7 deadline.
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato indicated that the government plans to revise its basic policy on the state of emergency on Friday to include requirements for "priority measures to prevent the spread of the disease" and other steps stipulated in the newly revised special measures law that will take effect from Feb. 13.
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