Earlier this week, Japan was reportedly considering extending the current quasi-state of emergency for prefectures across the country as hospitals continue to struggle with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the emergency measures have been extended for two weeks until Monday March 21 in 18 prefectures including Tokyo. Additionally, the emergency will also be lifted in 13 other prefectures where new Covid-19 infections are slowing down.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the move at a press conference on Thursday March 3 and the extension was officially confirmed on Friday March 4 after discussion with health experts.
The current quasi-state of emergency was set to expire on Sunday March 6 and is in place in 31 of Japan’s 47 prefectures. The two-week extension through to March 21 will affect the following prefectures:
- Aichi
- Aomori
- Chiba
- Gifu
- Gunma
- Hokkaido
- Hyogo
- Ibaraki
- Ishikawa
- Kagawa
- Kanagawa
- Kumamoto
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Saitama
- Shizuoka
- Tochigi
- Tokyo
The prefectures where the emergency will be lifted on Sunday March 6 are:
- Fukuoka
- Fukushima
- Hiroshima
- Kagoshima
- Kochi
- Mie
- Miyazaki
- Nagano
- Nagasaki
- Niigata
- Okayama
- Saga
- Wakayama
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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