In Japan, where the Tokyo Olympics are in full swing, the state of emergency has been extended again to areas outside of Tokyo to contain the explosive spread of COVID-19.
The Japanese government held a meeting of the Corona 19 Countermeasures Headquarters chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and decided to enter into force of a state of emergency in three metropolitan areas and four metropolitan areas, including Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, where new confirmed cases are rapidly increasing.
In addition, it was decided to newly apply quarantine measures to five other areas: Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka.
The period of entry into force of the state of emergency and the application of priority measures in the region is from the 2nd to the 31st of the following month.
In addition, the state of emergency, which is in effect in Tokyo with a deadline until the 22nd of next month, has been extended with Okinawa until the end of next month.
Japan's state of emergency is the highest level of quarantine measures issued by the Prime Minister under a special law as a means of curbing the spread of infectious diseases.
In areas where the state of emergency is in effect, the head of the regional group will implement various quarantine measures, including requests to refrain from going out, shortening restaurant business hours, requesting or ordering closures, and restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages.
The reason that the Japanese government has extended the effective period while significantly expanding the area of emergency declaration centering on the metropolitan area is that new infections mediated by delta mutations, which are more contagious since the start of the Tokyo Olympics, have been on the rise.
Yesterday (29th), the 7th day of the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, the total number of new confirmed cases in Japan was 10,699, exceeding 10,000 for the first time in a day.
Compared to the 5,393 people on the 22nd, the day before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the total number of new confirmed cases has doubled in just one week.
Although the Japanese government has decided to strengthen quarantine measures, such as expanding the areas where the state of emergency is in effect, it is unclear whether it will be effective in suppressing the spread of infection.