Japan considers another state of emergency over Covid 19

Tokyo : Authorities here are considering another state of emergency after spikes in cases of covid 19 put pressure on the nation's healthcare .

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan's Covid response, has revealed as much following request of curbs by the governors of Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures facing a local resurgence of infections.

"We agreed that we are in a severe situation that warrants us considering the declaration of a state of emergency," Nishimura said at a press conference after a meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the leaders of the Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectural governments.

"We will hear the opinions of experts" before making a decision regarding the issue, he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga did not attend the meeting but was briefed at his office by health ministry officials about the governors' request.

The central government declared a state of emergency in April last year in some of the country's 47 prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka, before expanding it nationwide.

After caseloads came down, the state of emergency was fully lifted in late May.

Relapsing into a worrying situation, Tokyo reported another 814 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, with its cumulative total rising to 61,774, according to the metropolitan government.

On the same day, 3,059 new cases were reported by local authorities nationwide.

The Japanese capital on Thursday saw a record 1,337 new COVID-19 cases, surpassing the 1,000-mark for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, while the three other prefectures have also logged record numbers of daily cases recently.

IANS report with edits