Japan announced on Saturday that it is considering new emergency protocols as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said a decision will be made after government officials meet with the country’s top health experts, according to Reuters.
“The national government and the three governors shared the view that the situation in the Tokyo area is getting more serious, so an emergency declaration may be necessary,” said Nishimura at a recent meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, reported Reuters.
According to the proposed measure, places that serve alcoholic beverages will close at 7 pm and restaurants and karaoke bars will close at 8 pm. according to the media.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga hesitated to reinstate the request for a national state of emergency, originally introduced at the beginning of the pandemic in April.
Hospitalizations in Japan have increased as a result of the most recent increase in coronavirus cases and an infection control manager at a local hospital in Tokyo, Fumie Sakamoto, expects this to get worse.
“The Japanese government has not done much to control the infection,” Sakamoto told Reuters. “I would expect the [infection] the numbers will increase in the coming days, and the emergency declaration should have arrived earlier, probably during December or November. “
Japan reported a total of 239,068 cases of coronavirus and 3,342 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins.