The vaccination campaign and distance rules in Japan are working: The now fifth corona emergency should end soon.
Japan will lift the corona emergency at the end of the month. This was announced by the outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. After the planned end of the measures on September 30th, for the first time since the beginning of April, no region of the island kingdom is in a state of emergency or quasi-emergency.
The number of new infections and patients with severe symptoms has decreased dramatically, Suga said in parliament. The restrictions are gradually being relaxed. The emergency in Tokyo and 18 other prefectures essentially stipulates that restaurants do not serve alcohol and close earlier. From now on alcohol is allowed again, but the restaurants are called upon to close early for another month.
Japan had repeatedly extended and expanded what was now the fifth state of emergency. However, Japan has never imposed a lockdown with tough curfews like in other countries since the beginning of the pandemic.
Head of government resigns
The island nation has around 1.7 million infections and 17,500 deaths as a result of Covid-19. The infection situation began to worsen again in July and reached its preliminary peak in mid-August after the Olympic Games. In Tokyo alone, new infections rose to over 5000 cases within a day. The health system threatened to collapse. Thousands of patients had to stay at home because a hospital bed could not be found.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced his resignation because of the criticism of his corona policy. This Wednesday, his ruling party, the LDP, will elect a successor.
The fact that the nationwide new infections have now fallen to around 2,000 cases a day – less than a tenth compared to the peak in mid-August – experts attribute, among other things, to the acceleration of the vaccination process, which started very late. 56 percent of the population are now fully vaccinated. In addition, more people are trying to keep their distance because the health system is so stressed.
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