Tokyo, Jan. 13, (dpa/GNA) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is set to expand a state of emergency over the Covid-19 pandemic to other parts of the country on Wednesday as Japan suffered a resurgence of virus infections.
Suga is to issue a state of emergency in additional seven prefectures, including Kyoto, Osaka and Fukuoka, which brings the number of prefectures under the measure to 11, Kyodo News reported.
The month-long state of emergency was declared on Thursday for Tokyo and its neighbouring three prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama as the region was struggling to rein in a severe third wave of the pandemic.
About 79 per cent of those polled said the move comes “too late” while nearly 78 per cent said the measure should be expanded to other areas, according to a Kyodo News survey published on Sunday.
On Friday, Japan reported a record 7,711 new infections, including 2,392 cases in Tokyo, marking the highest daily rise for the fourth day in a row.
In Tokyo, almost everyone wears a mask in public, but commuter trains were still packed even after the government imposed the measure and urged more people to work from home.
GNA