Tokyo has adopted a cautious stance on lifting the request to suspend business operations due to the coronavirus pandemic, setting its own criteria for a road map and aiming to lift restrictions in stages over time.
With no end in sight to infections with the new coronavirus, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced Friday seven criteria toward the lifting of the businesses suspension request.
The Osaka prefectural government, for its part, eased shutdown requests based on three criteria on Saturday.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike stressed a grim recognition of the current situation at a press conference Friday. "Tokyo is in the middle of the spread of the infection. Unfortunately, I have to say that we're in a long the tunnel that still goes on and on," she said.
While indicating the road map during the press conference, she avoided using the expression "exit strategy," while repeatedly calling for caution. She is believed to be wary of the public letting their guard down.
According to analysis by an expert panel of the central government, the number of infections in Tokyo was 1.437 per 100,000 people in the week of May 6-12 -- far exceeding the central government's target of 0.5 or fewer for ending the state of emergency.
The central government is expected to review whether to lift the state of emergency declaration for the remaining eight prefectures covered by it, including Tokyo, on May 21.
One of the expert panel members, however, stated a negative opinion about the situation surrounding Tokyo. "It still is hard [to lift the declaration] in Tokyo. I understand that the government wants to loosen up the control measures as early as possible, but it's all for nothing if the infection spreads," the expert said.
Data on the situation from early May -- when the mood of self-restraint is thought to have slackened -- will shortly be released. It is unclear whether the business suspension request can be lifted at the end of this month, observers said.
As business operators have been suffering due to the suspension request, Tokyo was urged to provide some future guidance for them. Thus, the metropolitan government found itself simultaneously pursuing two different goals -- infection prevention and economic measures -- a senior Tokyo government official said.
To meet the central government's target of 0.5 cases per 100,000 people for lifting the declaration, the number of people infected with the virus in Tokyo would have to be fewer than 10 in a day. Tokyo, however, sets its own numerical target at fewer than 20 new daily cases of the virus for lifting of its businesses suspension request.
Tokyo's own target considers seven factors, which also include the following: cases with unknown infection routes; the increase or decrease in the number of cases per week; the number of patients with serious symptoms; the percentage of positive results from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests; and the number of consultations received about suspicious symptoms.
"We set not only simple numerical targets but also many indicators so that we can make more prudent decisions. A 'Tokyo model' has been created that can detect signs of a renewed spread of the infection," the metropolitan government official said.
The Osaka prefectural government decided on May 5 that it would end most of its business suspension requests based on its own criteria -- such as that the daily number of cases with unknown infection routes should fall below 10 on average for the past seven days; the percentage of coronavirus-positive cases among PCR tests should be less than 7% on average; and the hospital bed occupancy rate for patients in serious condition should fall below 60%. On Saturday, Osaka significantly lifted the business suspension request.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura created Osaka's own criteria as he had a strong sense of urgency over the economic slowdown, observers said.
"We absolutely have to take the voices of those whose lives are like hell every day. We made a tunnel exit and carried out [our measures]," Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
