Sharply rising infections: Japan extends corona emergency

After a record increase in the number of infections, Japan is expanding the state of emergency to four other areas besides Tokyo. It is valid until the end of August. Prime Minister Suga justified this with the advance of the Delta variant.

One week after the start of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the Japanese government has extended the health emergency for the capital region and the Okinawa prefecture and extended it to four other prefectures due to the rapidly increasing number of corona infections. The state of emergency now also applies to Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama as well as Osaka in the west of the country, said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

For Tokyo and Okinawa, the state of emergency was extended to August 31, where it was originally supposed to expire on August 22.

Rapid advance of the Delta variant

Prime Minister Suga justified the measure with the rapid advance of the highly contagious Delta variant. The new infections would have to be contained, otherwise the number of seriously ill threatens to rise and overwhelm the hospitals.

Today Tokyo alone reported 3,300 new infections within 24 hours, after the number had peaked at 3,865 the day before. According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day incidence value per 100,000 population is currently 28 nationwide and 88 in Tokyo.

The health emergency in Japan is not as strict as it is in other countries. Bars and restaurants, among other things, are no longer allowed to serve alcohol and must close at 8 p.m., the number of participants at events is limited. There are no exit restrictions.

Citizens should stay at home

The government continues to urge citizens to stay home and watch the Olympics on TV. In addition, the younger generation was appealed to, like most of the older people in Japan now, to be vaccinated against corona. As of Thursday, 27 percent of the Japanese population had been fully vaccinated, compared with 71.5 percent of the elderly.

But many citizens are tired of the prolonged emergency. Critics also point out that the games and the successes of the Japanese athletes indirectly contribute to the fact that many Japanese no longer take the corona virus so seriously. The government and the IOC, on the other hand, claim that the increase in infections has nothing to do with the Olympics. The so far around 220 positive tests mostly concern Japanese people, not those who have come from abroad.

The government’s main coronavirus advisor, medical doctor Shigeru Omi, said the spread of the virus was due to the carelessness of the Japanese. Thanks to the many medals from their compatriots, they are in a good mood and many are still in vacation mode. He called for more discipline, but also for more rigorous government action.