Photo/Illutration Osaka prefectural officials patrol a mall packed with bars and restaurants in Osaka’s Kita Ward on Aug. 17. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The government plans to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency beyond the Sept. 12 deadline in at least Tokyo and neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, government sources said.

The new curbs are expected to be in place for two to four weeks, sources said.

Cabinet members handling the crisis will discuss the duration of the extension as well as targeted areas. After listening to the opinions of health experts, the government will make a formal decision as early as Sept. 9.

A state of emergency, currently in place in Tokyo and 20 prefectures, expires Sept. 12. Despite months of restrictions on outdoor activities, officials believe the infection situation in areas around Tokyo has yet to improve sufficiently to lift the emergency curbs, sources said.

It is also unlikely that the state of emergency will be lifted as scheduled in three prefectures in central Japan--Aichi, Gifu and Mie--as well as three prefectures in the Kansai region--Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo, according to the sources.

Even if the state of emergency is lifted in some prefectures, pre-emergency measures will likely be implemented instead, sources said.

Meantime, Tokyo logged 968 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Sept. 6, the first time for the capital’s daily count to drop below 1,000 since July 19, when the figure hit 727.

The latest tally, which also was 947 less than the figure of a week ago, marked the 15th consecutive day of such a decline, metropolitan government officials said.

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