Tokyo records 816 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday. A day before, the request to the central government to declare state of emergency was sent by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and the governors of two prefectures, Saitama and Chiba.
The requests came after the country recorded more than 4,500 new cases on New Year’s Eve as the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients hit a new high of 716.
NHK reported the PM Suga discussed the request with his spokesperson and financial minister. The planned state of emergency will be limited to some hospitality industry compared to the one in April last year, which put many local business in financial hardship.
