Japan expands COVID emergency as cases spike

People wearing face masks seen on a street in Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Pics/AFP

Japan expanded a Coronavirus state of emergency to four more areas in addition to Tokyo on Friday following record spikes in infections as the capital hosts the Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared an emergency in Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, near Tokyo, as well as in the western city of Osaka, effective from Monday until August 31. Emergency measures already in place in Tokyo and the southern island of Okinawa will be extended until the end of August, after the Olympics and well into the Paralympics which start August 24.

Five other areas, including Hokkaido, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka, will be placed under less-stringent emergency restrictions.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (right) attends a news conference on Japan's response to the pandemic, in Tokyo, on Friday

Tokyo has reported a record increase in cases for three days in a row, including 3,865 on Thursday, before logging another 3,300 on Friday. The cases have doubled since last week, although officials say the surge is unrelated to the Olympics.

Officials said 2,995 are hospitalised, about half the current capacity of 6,000 beds, with some hospitals already full. More than 10,000 others are isolating at home or in designated hotels, with nearly 5,600 waiting at home while health centres decide where they will be treated. Tokyo is also setting up a facility for those requiring oxygen while waiting for hospital beds.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Pic/AFP

"Infections are expanding in the Tokyo and western metropolitan areas at an enormous speed that we have never experienced before," Suga said as he declared the expansion of the state of emergency. If the spike continues at the current pace with the spread of the more contagious delta variant, Japan's medical system could collapse, he said. Nationwide, Japan reported 10,687 cases Thursday, exceeding 10,000 for the first time. It has recorded 15,166 fatalities from COVID-19, including 2,288 in Tokyo, since the pandemic began.

Japan has kept its cases and deaths lower than many other countries, but its seven-day rolling average is growing and now stands at 28 per 100,000 people nationwide and 88 per 100,000 in Tokyo, according to the Health Ministry. This compares to 18.5 in the US, 48 in Britain and 2.8 in India, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The emergency measures focus on an alcohol ban at eateries and karaoke bars and their shortened hours, but have become less effective because people are only requested to remain and work at home.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever