Japan on Friday extended COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency measures until March 6 in 17 prefectures, including Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka, to curb coronavirus infections and will end them Sunday in five other prefectures.
The extension means that 31 of Japan's 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, will remain under a quasi-state of emergency into March. The measures allow the prefectures' governors to request that restaurants and bars close early and stop serving alcohol.
Shigeru Omi, the government's top COVID adviser, told a press conference, after a government panel approved the extensions earlier in the day, that two of its members opposed the extension, saying the Omicron variant, which is said to cause no or mild symptoms, does not call for such restrictions.
But Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked for understanding regarding the decision. "I am making the request as I believe that through proceeding with various measures, we will achieve certain results," he said during a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting.
Hitoshi Kikawada, senior vice minister at the Cabinet Office, told the panel that the 17 prefectures seeking extensions "face the possibility of an increase in the number of patients with severe symptoms and need to reduce the burden on their health care systems."
Kikawada said the strain on hospitals had eased in the five other prefectures -- Yamagata, Shimane, Yamaguchi, Oita and Okinawa.
The quasi-emergency measures were set to expire Sunday in 16 of the 17 prefectures and on Feb. 27 in Wakayama in western Japan.
The remaining 13 prefectures are Hokkaido, Aomori, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Ishikawa, Nagano, Shizuoka, Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Saga and Kagoshima.
But Japan on Friday confirmed 211 virus-related deaths, the fourth consecutive day that the count has gone over 200. The seven-day rolling average for deaths was also at a record 190.
Daily new infections remained high nationwide at 87,723, including 16,129 cases in Tokyo and 11,505 in Osaka Prefecture.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference that experts believe the recent wave of infections has likely peaked, and the government plans to "confirm the downtrends in the infection situation and the strain on hospitals" in the extended two weeks.
The government could lift the measures before the scheduled end date if the situation improves and local governors call for it.
The quasi-emergency measures have been in place since January in many of the areas to prevent a surge in COVID-19 patients from overwhelming hospitals.
The government will also begin implementing a new policy for allowing children between five and 11 years old to be vaccinated for the first time from late February.
As inoculation is not compulsory, authorities will focus on promoting the safety and efficacy of vaccines for children.
The highly transmissible Omicron strain tends to cause no or mild symptoms. But elderly people and those with underlying health conditions are more likely to develop severe symptoms requiring medical treatment.
