While requests for shorter-time business hours continue to be made to restaurants, groups are conspicuous in downtown Tokyo where they have a drinking party on the streets in front of the station or in parks.

Experts warn that "even outdoors, if you drink together for a long time with the mask off, the risk of infection increases."

In Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures, "priority measures such as prevention of spread" are applied, and restaurants are requested to shorten their business hours to 8:00 pm.



Under these circumstances, in the downtown area of ​​Tokyo, the appearance of groups gathering on the streets in front of the station and in parks to have a drinking party is becoming more prominent.



Of these, at the plaza in front of JR Takadanobaba Station in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, there were about 10 groups having a drinking party on the street with canned chu-hi and canned beer around 8:30 pm on the 19th.



The four college students had a drinking party at a nearby izakaya in the evening, but the store they went to for the second party was closed, so they decided to drink on the street.



One of the male college students said, "I understand that only young people are criticized for drinking, but adults also go to work or have dinner. There are many online classes at the university, and only students stay at home. I feel like I'm afraid, so I have some feelings that I would like you to forgive me for gathering at night in this way. "



In addition, other university students said, "Even though I have only been in college for four years, I feel that I am still refraining from living and I am losing only our generation. Of course, I think that we should cooperate so that the infection does not spread. However, if I stayed at home all the time, I would be sad, and I think there are some mentally difficult parts. "



The governors of 1 metropolitan area and 3 prefectures are calling for refraining from drinking parties on the streets with masks removed and dinners with a large number of people, even outdoors.

"State of emergency may be a place for the spread of infection by drinking on the street"

Professor Tetsuya Matsumoto of the International University of Health and Welfare, who is familiar with infectious disease control, said, "You may think that ventilation is good outdoors, but if you talk with the mask off, the flight will reach up to about 2 meters." Therefore, there is no risk of infection. ”I think that many people drink with confidence, but especially outside, they tend to talk loudly and loudly, so if you drink together for a long time, the risk of infection increases.”



On top of that, "If an emergency is declared in the future, restaurants may be closed and more and more people may drink on the street, which may become a place for the spread of infection. I understand the desire to drink somewhere. However, I would like you to understand that there is a sufficient risk of drinking on the street and refrain from it in the current situation where the infection is spreading. "