Japan, for most of the country, will lift nationwide state of emergency imposed to battle coronavirus, while keeping it enforced in the capital Tokyo and seven other provinces.
The decision to roll back the state of emergency came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government noted the pandemic “is currently not spreading widely” and number of cases were continuously falling in 39 provinces.
“WE BELIEVE IT’S APPROPRİATE TO LIFT THE STATE OF EMERGENCY”
The country has reported over 16,000 confirmed coronavirus cases so far, while 678 people have died due to the infection.
But the government decided to continue with the emergency situation in Tokyo and other seven provinces including Osaka, the Kyodo news reported.
Health experts have been tasked to analyze the daily coronavirus data and recent situation hospitals face.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister for economic revitalization, said: “We believe it’s appropriate to lift the state of emergency for the prefectures.”