With signs emerging that new COVID-19 cases are peaking, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Monday that, for the time being, he will refrain from asking the central government to impose a state of emergency. But he added that he may reconsider if cases go up in the future.
Yoshimura, who said last week he may ask for a more stringent state of emergency amid strains on the health care system in Osaka Prefecture, told reporters that he expects the central government to extend its quasi-emergency, which is set to expire Sunday.
“(A state of emergency) would strongly restrict people's rights. I don't think it needs to be imposed when cases are going down," said Yoshimura. "If the number of infections increases, I'll request a state of emergency at that point."
The governor added that Osaka will place more emphasis on treating elderly virus patients, who are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms. At present, about 70% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are 70 years old or older, according to Yoshimura.
The prefecture reported 7,997 new cases and nine deaths Monday, compared with 9,008 cases and 16 deaths on the same day the week before.
Yoshimura is worried that Osaka’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients will be overwhelmed, affecting noncoronavirus patients as well, if cases don’t fall. Figures, however, are showing that it’s already reached that point.
As of Sunday, Osaka’s hospital bed occupancy rate for mildly and moderately ill COVID-19 patients was 116.9%, up 12 points from the day before. For critical coronavirus patients, the figure was lower at 31.2%.
Yoshimura had previously indicated that he would ask the central government to impose a state of emergency — which would mean tougher restrictions on local businesses, including reduced operating hours — if the hospital bed occupancy rate for serious patients tops 40%.
The Osaka governor also said he has discussed the issue with the governors of neighboring Hyogo and Kyoto prefectures, who have both told him that they have no plans to ask for a state of emergency.
In addition to hospitalized patients, 67,853 people were recovering from COVID-19 at home, while another 68,337 were waiting to be admitted to a hospital or other medical facility.
The share of tests that came back positive in the week through Sunday was high at 49.1%, indicating that there is a high level of transmission and that there are many infected people in Osaka who were not tested.
Takashi Tsuchiya, professor of statistics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, has estimated that although daily cases may dramatically decline in Osaka by the end of this month, the number of critical patients is likely to continue rising through early March, possibly reaching 500, compared with 191 on Sunday.
Also Monday, the Self-Defense Forces opened its second vaccination site for boosters in the prefecture, pushing up the daily capacity for shots from 960 to 2,500 at SDF venues.
The SDF program is open to people aged 18 and over who had their last vaccination more than six months ago, regardless of where they live. The Moderna Inc. booster will be used, and the sites will remain open until the end of July.
At present, quasi-emergencies are set to expire in the following 21 prefectures on Sunday: Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Okinawa, Hokkaido, Aomori, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Ishikawa, Nagano, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Shimane, Okayama, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita and Kagoshima.
Staff writer Kanako Takahara contributed to this report.
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