The central government officially declared Thursday that the coronavirus state of emergency currently imposed on Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures will be lifted Monday, but officials are urging the public to stay vigilant to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
“We extended the state of emergency for two weeks (from March 7) and said we would cautiously make the decision as we took the situation over hospital beds into consideration,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a news conference Thursday evening. “Those figures have hit the target to lift the state of emergency in a stable manner so we made a decision to do so today.”
Speaking earlier in the day, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister leading the central government’s virus response, stressed the importance of minimizing a resurgence, and vowed to enhance mass testing in large cities and boost contact-tracing to detect early signs of a worsening outbreak. He urged the public to avoid nonessential outings and forgo seasonal parties and gatherings, noting that the virus spread rapidly last spring.