Government eyeing extension of emergency-level measures in Tokyo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:41 JST, June 27, 2021

An increasing number of government officials have been voicing support for extending emergency-level priority measures in Tokyo to halt the spread of coronavirus infections.

The number of new cases in Tokyo has been on the rise, and experts may call for the government to declare a state of emergency for the fourth time.

The government is hoping the vaccination campaign will progress and alleviate the situation.

The emergency-level priority measures in Tokyo, Hokkaido and eight other prefectures and a state of emergency declared for Okinawa Prefecture are scheduled to end on July 11.

The government plans to make a decision on the matter by July 8.

“We have been seriously considering declaring [a state of emergency] again,” said Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Norihisa Tamura at a press conference on Friday.

If there are signs of a shortage of hospital beds, the government is likely to declare another state of emergency.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, the occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo as of Saturday was 25.5%, and the number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients decreased by one from the previous day to 37.