Covid state of emergency comes into force in 7 other Japanese prefectures

Tokyo, Aug 20 A Covid-19 state of emergency came into force in seven other prefectures in Japan on Friday with restrictions on business activity amid the country's largest wave of infections so far.

Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka entered the anti-Covid measure, which lasts until September 12, joining Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka, and Okinawa, reports Xinhua news agency.

Under the state of emergency, major commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls are requested to limit the number of customers allowed in at the same time, in addition to food establishments being banned from serving alcohol or offering karaoke and those not serving them required to close by 8 p.m.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has also called on the public to cut 50 per cent of going out to crowded places, while asking companies to have employees work from home and reduce the number of commuters by 70 per cent.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a press conference on Friday that according to the latest data, human traffic in Tokyo's major entertainment areas has decreased around 35 per cent compared to early July.

Kato vowed that the government will continue to work hard to achieve the 50 per cent target.