Emergency may end around May 14 in some areas

NHK -- May 08

Japan's government says it may lift the country's state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak in some prefectures around May 14.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi spoke about the possibility to reporters on Thursday.

Nishimura said no new cases were reported in 34 prefectures on Wednesday. He said 17 of them had seen no new infections over the past week.

He indicated that the government may lift the emergency declaration for such prefectures around May 14 after listening to opinions of the government's expert panel.

Nishimura said the government will consider whether to lift the declaration based on the number of infected people, availability of medical care and other factors.

He said the government will come up with a set of criteria for such a decision without delay through discussions with experts.

The nationwide state of emergency was to end on Wednesday, but the government extended it through May 31.

May 08 (ANNnewsCH) - 緊急事態宣言を解除する基準を14日より前に示したい考えです。  西村経済再生担当大臣:「できれば14日より前にと考えている。できるだけ早く方向性を示したほうがいい」  西村経済再生担当大臣は緊急事態宣言を解除するための基準について、1週間以上、新規感染者が出ていない17の県を念頭に感染者数や地域の医療体制の状況をもとに作成し、14日より前に示す意向を明らかにしました。さらに、岐阜や愛知では感染者数が減少していることから、特定警戒地域でも14日に解除の対象になる可能性もあると述べました。