Japan's government is resisting calls to declare a national state of emergency — despite urgings from experts and a recent spike in confirmed coronavirus cases in Tokyo.
A security guard and pedestrians stand at a closed cherry blossom viewing spot in Tokyo's Ueno Park on March 28.A security guard and pedestrians stand at a closed cherry blossom viewing spot in Tokyo's Ueno Park on March 28.Japan's government on Monday resisted calls to declare a national state of emergency, despite a recent spike in confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Tokyo and warnings of further exponential growth.
With fewer than 2,000 confirmed cases and 54 deaths, Japan has so far managed to avoid the explosion of numbers that China and South Korea have seen. Some medical experts argue that Japan's strategy of limiting testing to the most urgent cases and focusing on isolating clusters has been effective. Others argue that the country's conservative use of testing has concealed the scale of the problem.
Her earlier entreaty for a sort of"soft lockdown" ahead of the weekend seemed to have some effect. Tokyo metro usage was down by 70% to 80% compared to the same weekend last year,"At this point, we don't need to declare a state of emergency," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday. But, referring to the spike in cases, he also acknowledged that the country is at a critical moment, saying,"We are on the brink.
a press conference on Monday. He said fellow members of a panel of experts advising the government on the outbreak agreed.a three-week lockdown, during which governors of hard-hit prefectures could instruct residents to stay at home, except for essential purposes.
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