The The Japanese government is ready to end the state of emergency due to the corona virus in five prefectures on Friday, a week ahead of schedule, following a dramatic drop in new cases across the country.
Emergency measures, including requests to close bars and restaurants at 8 p.m., are expected to be lifted in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi and Gifu prefectures, Kyodo news agency said. But they will remain in place in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba.
Officials will make a decision on Fukuoka’s possible exit from the state of emergency after evaluating the availability of hospital beds in the southwestern prefecture, Kyodo said.
The state of emergency – the second in Japan since the start of the pandemic – began on January 7 in 11 of the country’s 47 prefectures and was extended by one month to March 7. Tochigi, north of Tokyo, has already withdrawn.
While the Japanese authorities do not have the legal authority to impose restrictions on companies or individuals, requests to shorten opening hours and avoid non-essential outings seem to pay off. Companies are encouraged to work remotely, and attendance at major events such as concerts and sporting events is limited to 5,000.
Japan registered 1,065 new Covid-19 cases Thursday, according to public broadcaster NHK, well below the daily peak of nearly 8,000 on Jan. 8. Seventy-four deaths were attributed to the virus on the same day, up from a record high of 121 in early February.
The government hopes to lift the state of emergency in the remaining four prefectures as scheduled on March 7, NHK added.
Health experts said lifting most restrictions should not be taken as a sign that life is returning to normal. “There is a danger that it could send the wrong message that everything is okay,” Toshio Nakagawa, head of the Japan Medical Association, said Thursday.