Japan could lift COVID emergency by the end of September: Health Minister Norihisa Tamura

Japanese Health Minister Norihisa Tamura on Sunday, September 26, said that the government believes that it is possible to lift the state of emergency in many of the country's prefectures where it is currently in effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presently, the state of emergency in Japan is active in 19 out of 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, Hokkaido, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, and Okinawa. 

Tamura said, “We see that the number of new cases continues decreasing. In this situation, we could lift the emergency state by the end of September, I think.”

The Japanese health minister further noted that there might still be new risks, such as another wave of the coronavirus. He said, “Even if you are fully vaccinated, there's always a risk of getting infected. Because of this, I think there must be certain behavioural tests to soften existing restrictions.”

Japan COVID emergency: Govt to take final decision by September 28 

Now, the Japanese government is expected to make the final decision on the state of emergency by September 28. It is worth noting that Japan has administered about 157,000,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines so far. It has inoculated 56% of the country’s population against the deadly virus. The government has stated that if the vaccination moves at the current pace it will surpass 60% of people vaccinated by the end of September. 

The government aims to fully vaccinate eligible people by November. The country started its vaccination programme in the month of February, this year, with frontline workers first in line followed by people aged 65 and above. After witnessing a rise in the Delta variant cases last month, the frequency of new cases in the country has started decreasing. 

PM Suga says COVID situation 'getting better'

On Saturday, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga said that the nation’s COVID-19 situation is getting better. According to Japan Times, Suga told reporters accompanying him on a visit to Washington that the COVID-19 situation has “certainly been getting better”. He added that the government would “carry out an analysis again” and make a decision by listening to experts’ opinions. 

Meanwhile, the Japanese health ministry has begun reviewing the condition of the nation’s health care system. The ministry has asked existing medical institutions to secure sufficient hospital beds in preparation for a new possible wave of the COVID-19. Now it also plans to increase the number of temporary medical facilities such as gyms, while also strengthening the coordination of personnel, according to officials.

(Image: Unsplash/@norihisa.tamura.official/Facebook)