Posted on 04/07/2020 6:52:11 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a monthlong state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures on Tuesday to ramp up defenses against the spread of the coronavirus as the number of infections surges.
But the move came in the form of a stay-at-home request — not an order — and violators will not be penalized.
The COVID-19 outbreak is now rampant and rapidly spreading, threatening people’s health, their daily lives and the economy, Abe said.
The state of emergency, which is until May 6, will only permit Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and heads of the six other prefectures to do more to reinforce calls for social distancing.
“The most important thing is for each one of us to change our activity,” Abe told a government task force. He urged everyone to cut contacts with others by 70-80% for one month, calling the coronavirus pandemic “the biggest postwar crisis.”
The announcement follows surges in new cases in Tokyo, including consecutive rises exceeding 100 over the weekend. By Tuesday there were 1,196 confirmed cases in the metropolitan region of 14 million people. Nationwide, Japan has reported 91 deaths from COVID-19 and 3,906 confirmed cases, plus another 712 cases and 11 fatalities from a cruise ship that was quarantined earlier at Yokohama port near Tokyo.
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(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Was the Emperor not available for comment?
Prayers for the Japanese.
Tokyo is an extremely dense population center. If you have ever taken a ride on the Tokyo trains, you will know and feel what I mean. If COVID19 got in, it was going to take quite a shut down to curb it.
They won't have to. Japanese are really big on the social sanctioning thing.
Some prefectures in Japan and even some towns and villages in Japan have had their own rules, already.
The son of a nephew of mine lives in Japan & is starting a new job. But before he can actually start work the town he will work in requires Covid-19 tests and automatic self-isolation of all newcomers. Meanwhile, he’s got his cell phone and cell phone connection, Internet & Wifi connections for his computer in his apartment, as much food as he could stock and that’s about it. His employer says not to worry.
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