Japan announced on Saturday that it is considering new emergency protocols as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said a decision will be made after government officials meet with leading health experts in the country, Reuters said.
“The national government and the three governors shared the view that the situation in the Tokyo area is getting worse, so an emergency call may be necessary,” Nishimura said in a recent meeting with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, Reuters reported.
Under the proposed measure, venues serving alcohol will close at 7pm and restaurants and karaoke bars will close at 8pm. Japan had previously allowed voluntary business closures and restricted travel to and out of the country rather than implementing a strict nationwide shutdown, according to the news outlet.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was hesitant to re-call for a national emergency, originally enacted at the start of the pandemic in April.
Hospital admissions in Japan have increased due to the latest wave of coronavirus cases and infection control manager at a local Tokyo hospital, Fumie Sakamoto, expects things to get worse.
“The Japanese government has not done much to control the infection,” Sakamoto told Reuters. “I would expect it [infection] numbers will grow in the coming days and the emergency call should have come earlier, probably in December or November. “
Japan has reported in total According to Johns Hopkins, 239,068 coronavirus cases and 3,342 virus-related deaths have occurred since the start of the pandemic.