Tokyo: Japan’s government announced on Tuesday that the Covid state of emergency will end this week so the economy can be reactivated as infections slow.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the emergency would end on Thursday and virus restrictions would be eased gradually “in order to resume daily lives despite the presence of the virus”. He said the government would create more temporary Covid-19 treatment facilities and continue vaccinations to prepare for any future resurgence.
Government officials are also instituting other plans such as vaccine passports and virus tests, Suga said. With the lifting, Japan will be free of emergency requirements for the first time in more than six months. Japan’s current state of emergency, declared in April, was repeatedly extended and expanded. Despite public weariness and frustration over the measures, Japan has managed to avoid the more restrictive lockdowns imposed elsewhere while recording about 1.69 million cases and 17,500 deaths from Covid-19. The emergency has mainly involved requests for restaurants and bars to reduce their hours and not serve alcohol.