Photo/Illutration Pedestrians cross a busy intersection in the Susukino entertainment district of Sapporo on Nov. 6. (Kengo Hiyoshi)

SAPPORO--Faced with surging COVID-19 cases, authorities in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, raised the alert level regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic to 3 on its five-point scale.

Hokkaido reported a record 187 new cases on Nov. 7 and the capital of Sapporo confirmed a new high of 141 cases.

It was the third straight day Hokkaido has logged more than 100 new COVID-19 cases.

Hokkaido authorities convened a meeting of its task force dealing with the health scare on Nov. 7 and decided to raise the alert level to 3. The alert level was raised from 1 to 2 only on Oct. 28.

As an initial step, bars and restaurants operating in Susukino, the busiest entertainment district in Sapporo, are being asked to close between 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. if staff are in close contact with customers during the normal course of business hours. The request will be for three weeks until Nov. 27.

Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki and Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto held a news conference on Nov. 7 to explain the new measures and seek the cooperation of Hokkaido residents and visitors.

Colder temperatures from late October have led to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Hokkaido. Fifty-one fresh cases were reported on Oct. 23, breaking the previous daily record for the first time in about six months.

Even after the alert level was raised to 2, new cases continued to rise, with 119 reported on Nov. 5 and 115 the following day.

Several of the seven indicators used by Hokkaido authorities to determine the alert level had already reached levels beyond that for 3 and there were some calls for even stricter measures.

Hokkaido authorities issued their own state of emergency in late February after COVID-19 cases surged ahead of the national trend.

That led to requests for bars and restaurants in Susukino to close. In the three-month period between June and August after the state of emergency was lifted, about 10 percent of the 3,800 or so bars and restaurants in the district had closed, according to the Susukino tourism association. 

“More businesses will likely close for good,” said an association official. “The vitality of Susukino will not return if infections continue to spread. We will have to all come together in the district to overcome this problem.” 

(This article was written by Ichiro Matsuo, Fumiko Yoshigaki, Tatsuya Harada and Aya Amano.)

Related News