Japan's Suga says virus emergency to remain in effect until March 7

TOKYO, Feb. 2 Kyodo - Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday he will extend the state of emergency covering Tokyo and other parts of Japan by one month to March 7, as hospitals remain under pressure despite declining coronavirus numbers. The state of emergency will remain in place in 10 prefectures including Osaka, Aichi and Fukuoka. Tochigi will be the only one to have it lifted on Feb. 7 because its situation has significantly improved. Suga made the announcement in parliament after a panel of experts approved the extension. The decision will be finalized later in the day by the government's coronavirus task force. "The nationwide number of new infections is falling, but we need to continue this and decrease the number of patients who are hospitalized or in serious condition," he said. Under the state of emergency, people are urged to refrain from unnecessary outings while restaurants and bars are being asked to close early. Businesses are encouraged to adopt remote working and attendance at large events has been capped. While the measures have been laxer than the previous state of emergency last spring, when schools were closed nationwide and some businesses were told to temporarily close, they have been at least somewhat successful in bringing down the number of infections. Tokyo reported 393 coronavirus cases on Monday, the lowest figure in more than a month and down from the single-day peak of 2,447, marked when the current emergency was declared on Jan. 7. Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the government's pandemic response, has said the state of emergency may be lifted before March 7 in prefectures where the situation significantly improves. One benchmark for an early exit in the capital would be daily new infections falling below 500, he has said, though other factors including the availability of hospital beds will also be considered. On Tuesday, Tokyo reported 556 additional coronavirus cases. Neighboring Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama as well as Aichi, Gifu, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka will all remain under the state of emergency based on a law aimed at containing virus infections. Okinawa, which was under consideration to be added due to outbreaks on some remote islands, was left off the list. The numbers of COVID-19 patients in serious condition and deaths attributed to the disease remain near their peak, and health experts warn it will take time before the situation improves. Suga, who has seen his public support dwindle amid criticism that his pandemic response has been sluggish, is scrambling to contain the coronavirus in time for this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Japan is behind other countries such as the United States in rolling out vaccines, with inoculations for health workers to begin later this month followed by people aged 65 and older in April at the earliest. Suga is slated to hold a press conference in the evening to explain the reasoning behind the extension of the state of emergency and ask for the public's cooperation. In parliament, the prime minister said he was sorry that four members of the ruling coalition had visited hostess bars in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza district despite the government's guidelines to stay home. Three lawmakers were effectively kicked out of Suga's Liberal Democratic Party over the matter, while another belonging to junior coalition partner Komeito resigned from parliament. Suga declared a state of emergency in the Tokyo metropolitan area on Jan. 7 and expanded it to the other prefectures on Jan. 13. Unlike other countries that have imposed hard lockdowns, Japan has no legal basis to punish rule breakers. To add teeth to measures, the government has proposed legislation introducing fines for COVID-19 patients refusing to be hospitalized as well as restaurants and bars ignoring orders to close early. The legislation -- revisions to the coronavirus special measures law and the infectious disease law -- passed the House of Representatives on Monday and is expected to be enacted Wednesday following approval by the House of Councillors. ==Kyodo