Japan Extends COVID-19 State Of Emergency In Tokyo Area Until March 21 - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th March, 2021) Japan's government has extended the coronavirus-related state of emergency in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area for another two weeks, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Friday.

The COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba has been in place since January 8 and was due to expire this Sunday.

On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga proposed extending the emergency for 14 days but said that the final decision would be made after the consultations with local health authorities. While noting that the coronavirus environment in the capital area was almost good enough to lift the emergency, Suga said that several critical items, such as the tight availability of hospital beds, necessitated a slight extension.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Area reported 301 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. This is consistent with the dynamics of the past two weeks where the daily increase in cases did not exceed 350. A record low of 121 new cases was confirmed this past Monday.