Japan: Okinawa imposes state of emergency as coronavirus cases spike

Because of increasing COVID 19 cases in the island region of Okinawa Japan, the administration has imposed a state of emergency to curb the virus. The region has declared a state of emergency from August 1 to August 15. People in the popular tourist destination were asked to stay inside their homes to curb the contagious virus. Okinawa witnessed 71 new cases of coronavirus on 31 July, this increase has brought the total number of infected people to 395 in the region. The majority of the infected persons in total cases are from US forces which accounts for 248. There are around 20,000 US Marines in Okinawa.

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According to media reports Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Denny Tamaki has asked residents to avoid non-essential outings. He also requested that eateries in the city of Naha limit opening hours between 5 am and 10 pm local time. The measures, however, are not mandatory. While talking to media persons Okinawa Governor informed about declaring a state of emergency “We're seeing an explosive spread of infections. We declare a state of emergency”, Governor reportedly said.  

Last month Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki flew to Tokyo to call on the US ambassador and representatives of the Japanese government to halt the transfer of any more US military personnel to the prefecture amid a significant outbreak of the coronavirus in US bases.

Later authorities of Okinawa have demanded an explanation from the US military over new clusters found at the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen and Okinawa Governor Tamaki has urged US officials to step up preventive measures to help curb further spread of the disease.

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Invoking emergency move came after capital Tokyo called for restaurants, bars, and karaoke parlors to shut at 10 pm from Aug 3 until the end of the month after the number of daily cases hit a new record. At the initial period of the outbreak, Japan had controlled the infection, but now the situation is deteriorating with a total of 37,778 confirmed cases and 1,008 deaths Japan is witnessing a surge.

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