Japan's Osaka prefecture will on Tuesday request the Central Government to declare a fresh state of emergency due to the continued surge of Covid-19 cases and the ensuing strain on healthcare facilities, authorities said.
The Osaka prefectural Government will formalise their decision to request the emergency virus period, the third for the hard-hit prefecture, at a task force meeting to be held in the afternoon on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. If the central government approves the request, the prefecture would be empowered to implement stronger measures to tackle the spread of the virus.
On Tuesday, quasi-emergency steps came into effect for parts of Tokyo's surrounding prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as well as for Aichi prefecture, and will be effective through May 11.