Photo/Illutration Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike attends a task force meeting formed by the Tokyo metropolitan government to tackle new coronavirus infections in the capital on March 23. (Rei Kishitsu)

The governor of Tokyo warned that the metropolis might be forced into a "lockdown" if there is an explosive surge in new coronavirus cases.

Yuriko Koike stressed March 23 that the coming three weeks would be a critical test of whether infections can be contained. 

Her remarks came as health authorities announced that a total of 154 people in Tokyo have been confirmed infected to date.

Koike, addressing an emergency meeting on the health scare, also called on organizers to continue to refrain from holding large events until April 12.

“We are asking for your cooperation to save people’s lives by averting ‘overshoot,’” Koike said, referring to an explosive growth in coronavirus patients.

She expressed alarm over a surge of new cases in Tokyo since mid-March, noting that more than 10 infections were confirmed per day on some days.

Koike added that more cases were occurring where it impossible to identify routes of transmissions.

The governor said experts are warning that Tokyo might see a dramatic surge in infections due to possible clusters forming among residents, citing a flurry of cases in the capital who tested positive after returning from trips overseas.

Koike underlined the importance of people to heighten their awareness of the risk of unknowingly infecting others. The virus causes COVID-19, a pneumonia-like disease.

“It is a matter of concern that young people are inadvertently spreading the virus to others as they are asymptomatic even if they are infected,” she said. “We must avert a spike in the number of seriously ill patients as a result of young people infecting the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.”

She also referred to the possibility that Tokyo, with a population of 13 million, could be forced into a lockdown like a number of cities overseas.

“We might be forced to turn to a forceful step such as a lockdown, depending on development in coming days," she said. "But we must avert that at all costs.”

She urged Tokyoites to shun enclosed venues with poor air circulation where large crowds gather and converse in close proximity for the next three weeks.

The Tokyo metropolitan government had already announced it will not hold large events until the end of March to stem the spread of the virus. But Koike said that period will be extended to April 12.

She pleaded with the private sector to toe the line in the fight against the virus.

With regard to school closures, the governor said officials are preparing to allow about 250 public-supported high schools and special needs schools in Tokyo to reopen for the new academic year in April.

They have been closed since March 2 at the behest of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who on Feb. 27 called for nationwide school closures to prevent the virus from spreading.

Koike said it was decided to allow the schools to reopen because no infections associated with the schools had occurred during the closure. She noted that the simple precaution of washing one's hands frequently, something that students had been required to do even before the school closure, had proved “effective” in reining in the infection.

She added that the metropolitan government has already conveyed its policy to allow for the reopening of schools to municipal authorities in Tokyo.

(This article was written by Hikari Maruyama and Rihito Karube.)

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