Japan said on Thursday it will extend emergency COVID-19 restrictions in Tokyo and other regions until the end of this month to curb infections and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, saying it was too early to let down its guard, APA reports citing Reuters.
Japan has been struggling with a fifth wave of the virus and last month extended its long-running curbs until Sept. 12 to cover about 80% of its population.
However, the number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow restrictions to be lifted.
The government will extend the measures until Sept. 30, including for Osaka in the west, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said after meeting with an advisory panel, which ratified the plan.
Japan's emergency curbs have centred on asking restaurants to close early and refrain from serving alcohol, while urging residents to telework as much as possible and refrain from travel.
Some signs of improvement around the nation mean that two prefectures out of 21 will move from the state of emergency measures to more targeted restrictions, while a number of other prefectures will remove all curbs.
"I believe we're starting to see results, but it's still too early to lower our guard," Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said at the meeting.
The plan will be formalised at a government task force meeting later on Thursday and announced by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at a news conference.
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