Society

Govt. asks public to stay alert after cases surge

Jun 01 (NHK) - Japan's government is asking people to continue taking preventative measures against the coronavirus after a renewed surge in cases in the southwestern city of Kitakyushu.

Officials there confirmed 12 new infections on Sunday, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 97 over the past nine days.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, who is in charge of the coronavirus response, told reporters on Sunday that the government is not considering re-declaring a state of emergency as infection routes have been identified.

But he said a sense of crisis remains as the number of infections has risen significantly.

Government officials say there is also the risk of a resurgence of cases in other areas. They are urging people to continue taking preventative measures, such as maintaining social distancing and wearing masks when resuming social and business activities.

Even if infections occur, the government plans to contain them by enhancing the testing system to quickly detect those who have been infected. It also plans to identify those who have had close contact with infected people.

The government says that from Monday it will not ask people to refrain from traveling across prefectural borders, except for Tokyo and its surrounding three prefectures, as well as Hokkaido.

But officials are calling on people in Fukuoka Prefecture and nearby Yamaguchi Prefecture to be cautious about traveling to Kitakyushu.

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