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Following the rapid spread of the new coronavirus infection, the government decided on the 19th to newly apply priority measures such as prevention of spread to 13 prefectures including Tokyo. According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the period is from 21st to 13th February.
We consulted with a subcommittee of experts. The area extends to 16 prefectures, including Okinawa, which has already been applied.
- New target areas: Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Gunma, Niigata, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Kagawa, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Miyazaki
According to NHK, in Tokyo, stores certified for infection control will either shorten their business by 8 pm without serving alcohol all day, or will serve alcohol by 8 pm and open at 9 pm. It is adjusted so that you can select either shortening to. If it is not certified, it will be shortened by 8 pm and it will be requested not to serve alcoholic beverages all day.
People waiting for PCR test (January 18, Shibuya, Tokyo)
Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama/Bloomberg
The 16 prefectures where spread prevention measures are taken account for 53.7% of the total economic scale of Japan. In Tokyo, there are voices concerned about the impact on the economy as it has become a full-scale business restriction since the state of emergency was lifted on September 30 last year.
Atsushi Takeda, Chief Economist of ITOCHU Research Institute, predicts that “shortening business hours will naturally reduce consumption of eating out and curb travel demand in the target area.” Consumption in the January-March quarter, which was expected to grow and recover steadily following the October-December quarter, was “looks like a lottery. It won’t be negative, but a slowdown will be unavoidable. I said.
Takeshi Ueno, senior economist at the Nisseikiso Research Institute, said, “The difference from the past is that there are many close contacts, and there is concern that the service cannot be provided due to labor shortages due to suspension of work.” “Repeating the same method as before is delayed compared to overseas,” he said. “It is necessary to make flexible corrections based on the characteristics of the Omicron strain.”
The infection has spread nationwide, and according to Kyodo News, it exceeded 26,000 on the 18th, the highest number of new infections per day. In Tokyo, 5,185 people (3719 people the day before) were confirmed to be infected, and since August 21, last year (5247 people), the number has exceeded 5,000 for the first time.
Confirmed 5185 new corona infections in Tokyo, over 5,000 since August last year
Number of newly infected coronaviruses in Tokyo
Source: Tokyo
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