Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, tasked with Japan's coronavirus measures, met with a panel of experts Friday and said social distancing efforts under the state of emergency should be kept in place for a while to prevent a resurgence of infections.
Nishimura quoted experts on the government-commissioned task force as saying the spread has slowed but not enough. If we relax the measures with insufficient decrease, infections will immediately bounce back and our effort so far will entirely go to waste, Nishimura said.
The experts recommended that the current measures should be kept in place. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a month-long state of emergency on April 7 in Tokyo and six other urban areas, requesting residents stay at home. He later expanded the guidelines to the entire country. Requests for nonessential business closures were also issued in Tokyo and several other prefectures.
Abe said Thursday he planned to extend the state of emergency beyond its scheduled end on May 6 because infections are spreading and hospitals are overburdened. He is expected to announce a decision within days.
Local governors in hard-hit areas and health experts concerned about the collapse of medical systems have called for a month-long extension.
Japan has 14,281 confirmed cases, up 182 from the day before, with 432 deaths, according to the health ministry tally Friday.
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