Japan adds Okinawa to state of emergency

May 22, 2021 | News On Japan

May 22, 2021 (NHK) - Japan's Prime Minister has confirmed the southern prefecture of Okinawa will be added to the coronavirus state of emergency.

The popular tourist destination is fighting its worst surge in cases since the pandemic began.

Suga Yoshihide said, "We decided to add Okinawa to the state of emergency as the number of new coronavirus cases, mainly among young people, has surged, and the occupancy rate of hospital beds remains high."

The move comes as Okinawa's daily case tally reached 207 on Friday, another record high.

The stricter measures will begin on Sunday, and last until June 20.

Local officials plan to ask bars and restaurants that serve alcohol to close in the hopes of limiting outings. They will also call on shopping malls and sport clubs to close at 8 p.m.

Tokyo, Osaka and seven other prefectures are already under a state of emergency. It is set to go until the end of May.

In another development, Japan's health minister has officially approved two more coronavirus vaccines, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

The Moderna shot would be administered at large-scale vaccination sites due to open in Tokyo and Osaka on Monday.

But the AstraZeneca one won't be used in public inoculation programs for the time being because of the risk of rare blood clots.

Health officials plan to carefully decide what age groups can be given the British-developed vaccine.

Only the Pfizer vaccine is currently being used in Japan as the law requires in-country clinical trials before approval.

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