Japan lifts emergency imposed due to Coronavirus

Japan has removed a nationwide emergency imposed to prevent the coronavirus. With the gradual opening of the world’s third largest economy, government officials have also appealed to take necessary preventives to avoid the effects of the epidemic.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while addressing the country on Monday, said, “Before the Emergency is lifted, we have adopted many stringent criteria and decided it only when everything is right.”

Compared to the most affected areas such as Europe, the United States, Russia and Brazil, the situation in Japan is still slightly better, with a total of 16,581 cases of infections and 830 deaths. Despite its health system and increasing cases, Prime Minister Abe had declared an emergency for Tokyo and six other areas, which was later implemented throughout the nation. During this time businesses and schools were urged to close and people were asked to stay indoors.

Although Japan’s lockdown was far softer than in other parts of the world and there was no punishment for breaking the rules, most of Tokyo’s famously congested streets remained silent and citizens followed the orders in a big way.

Currently, the number of new infections has decreased from 700 per day at the national level to just a few dozen. The emergency was lifted from most parts of the country here last week, but the government opted to wait before completely removing it from the capital and surrounding areas.

Abe appreciated the support of the countrymen and described it as a Japanese model and appealed to the people to be aware and alert even further.