THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 12, 2021 at 18:06 JST
Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima speaks at a news conference on Jan. 11 at the Kumamoto prefectural government building. (Nanami Watanabe)
Kumamoto prefectural officials on Jan. 11 announced that spiking local COVID-19 cases now warrant the highest stage 4 of the coronavirus alert level and consideration for being placed under a state of emergency.
“We are in a situation where a request for the central government to cover (the prefecture) under a state of emergency needs to be considered,” Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima said at the prefectural government’s task force meeting on the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The governor said he will consult with other governors in Kyushu to make a decision on making a request because the situation will not be resolved unless each prefecture in the region contains the virus surge.
The central government’s panel of experts dealing with the pandemic has established a four-stage system to determine a local government’s recommended response to put the brakes on or ease socio-economic activities such as travel and dining out.
The highest stage 4 is “an explosion of infections,” according to the panel.
In Kumamoto Prefecture, figures in five of six guidelines set by the panel, including the number of weekly new infection cases, exceeded the standard as of Jan. 10, prompting the prefectural government to raise the alert level from 3 to 4.
In the most recent week, the number of people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus was 524 as of Jan. 10.
According to the panel’s guideline, stage 4 is declared when the number reaches the level of “more than 25 cases per 100,000 population,” which is equivalent to 437 in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Prefectural officials said the figures in four other factors reached the standard.
In response, officials have extended the request for restaurants and businesses in central Kumamoto that serve alcohol to close at 10 p.m. until Jan. 24.
The request, issued on Dec. 30, was scheduled to end on Jan. 11.
Businesses that comply will receive 520,000 yen ($5,000), in principle.
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