Six prefectures in Japan lifted the state of emergency 5 months before the Olympics
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Friday that the state of emergency will be lifted on Sunday in six provinces in the country, less than five months before the start of the Olympic Games as the rate of infection with the Corona virus slows.
However, the measure will remain in effect at least until March 7 in four other provinces, including Greater Tokyo where the Olympic Games postponed from the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic are due to open July 23, 2021.
According to Soga, the state of emergency declared in early January is Part of Japan, it allowed to reduce the frequency of new infections, as he said, "In light of this and the circumstances in various regions, I decided to lift the state of emergency on February 28 in six provinces."
"As for Greater Tokyo, there is a decline in the number of new infections. But the medical sector is still facing difficulties."
The Prime Minister stressed on reducing restaurant working hours in order to be able to lift the state of emergency "in its entirety on the seventh of March."
The state of emergency, which was declared with the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Japan, is less stringent than the containment measures in place elsewhere in the world and mainly provides for the closure of bars and restaurants at eight in the evening.
Japan imposed less stringent measures than other countries, and in early February parliament passed provisions that include fines for companies that do not close at recommended times.
Despite the recent spike in cases between December and January, the impact of the pandemic on Japan has not been strong compared to many countries around the world, with the epidemic resulting in fewer than 7,800 officially recorded deaths since January 2020.
The country launched a vaccination campaign last week and received until Now about 22,000 people from the medical sector are the first dose.
Olympic and Paralympic organizers are closely monitoring the health situation in Japan.
They had previously announced very strict measures that, according to them, would ensure that games were safe, even without forcing participants to receive the vaccine or quarantine upon arrival.
But Japanese people and experts fear that these precautions will not be sufficient for a global event of this scale.
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