Japan PM Suga urges citizen to avoid travel as COVID cases rise ahead of Paralympics

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday urged people to avoid travelling as the country records an uptick of COVID-19 cases with record-breaking numbers being registered in Tokyo. Reportedly, as the country’s hospitals are reeling under pressure, Suga’s remarks came after the health experts recommended strengthening the states of emergency now in place in the capital as well as other hotspots. Days after the Tokyo Olympics ended, the Paralympics organisers have decided to hold the event majorly without spectators in the wake of the COVID-19 situation in the country. 

Suga told the reporters, “I would like to ask citizens to avoid going back to their home towns or travelling, and to refrain from going out unnecessarily.”

Meanwhile, it's highly unlikely for Suga's popularity to increase as the country is headed for the general election in November, according to the newspaper Japan Times. Suga’s approval ratings have slumped drastically over the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the current onslaught of cases in Japan driven by the hypervirulent delta variant to the worst levels yet, it is being speculated that the support for Suga’s government might not improve.

Olympics ‘not behind country’s COVID-19 spike’: Suga

Even as Tokyo continued to register a record number of Coronavirus cases, PM Suga told the press earlier last week that the Olympics were not the reason for the massive spike. His remarks came as daily cases in Japan crossed the 10,000 marks. While legislators and government critics blamed the Tokyo Olympics for the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, PM Suga, however, rejected any connection between the Olympic games and the increasing number of infections. Suga's remarks follow the government's declaration of a state of emergency across four more prefectures, namely Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Osaka.

“It's [Olympics] so far had little or no impact,” Suga told Japanese reporters, adding that the rapid surge in cases “can be attributed to an increased movement of people due to a four-day holiday weekend, the Olympics and Paralympics, and summer vacations. We must keep in mind that the number will increase. It is time to introduce tighter restrictions,” Japanese PM said. 

(Image Credit: AP)