A coronavirus state of emergency, which had been set to end in nine prefectures on Monday, entered a period of extension on Tuesday. In the prefectures of Tokyo and Osaka, department stores and other large facilities resumed full operations as requests for closure have been eased. Through June 20, when the extension is set to end, the government will continue to request that restaurants that serve alcohol remain closed to help control the infection.
The nine prefectures where the state of emergency has been extended are Hokkaido, Tokyo, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. Including Okinawa Prefecture, where a state of emergency was declared on May 23, a total of 10 prefectures are currently under a state of emergency.
The Tokyo metropolitan government and the Osaka prefectural government eased their own closure requests to large commercial facilities with floor space of more than 1,000 square meters, and allowed department stores to stay open until 8 p.m. on weekdays. Movie theaters are also allowed to operate if they meet certain conditions, such as limiting the number of people.
The Isetan Shinjuku main store in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, restored its opening time, which had been pushed back by one hour to shorten total opening hours, and opened at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday. It was the first time in about a month that the entire building was open for business.
About 20 customers lined up before the store opened. After checking their temperatures and sterilizing their hands, they entered the store and looked around the jewelry and other sections, which had been closed since April 25 when the declaration was issued.
A 58-year-old restaurant owner from Kodaira, Tokyo, who came to look at watches, said: "The department store is a special place and I've been looking forward to its reopening. I can shop with peace of mind because infection control measures have been taken. Vaccinations are progressing, and I hope this trend will continue."
The store will continue to close some entrances and limit the number of visitors when it is crowded. "We will take thorough measures against infections and operate with the safety and security of our customers as our top priority," one official at the department store said.
Department stores in Osaka Prefecture also reopened all their sections for business on Tuesday. The Hankyu Department Store Umeda Main Store in Kita Ward, Osaka City, opened its gift center to accept orders for summer gift-giving season on the same day. A spokesperson of the operating company, H2O Retailing Corp., said, "We cannot be optimistic as the pandemic continues, but we will keep open while taking measures against infection."
-- Medical system under pressure
Although the number of newly infected people nationwide is on a downward trend, medical systems in various parts of the country remain under pressure.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the number of people in serious condition nationwide, amid the current fourth wave of infections, was 1,349 as of May 31. For about a month, the number has continued to exceed the third-wave peak of 1,043, marked on Jan. 27.
In the 10 prefectures under a state of emergency, the number of people receiving treatment per 100,000 of the population ranged from 37 in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hyogo to 180 in Okinawa as of May 30. All 10 prefectures are thus in Stage 4, the most serious stage in which the number is 30 or more per 100,000 people.
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