A 38-year-old mother in the city of Saitama, who saw her 8-year-old son off to elementary school on Thursday morning, said, I wonder if this will be enough. I want (the government) to impose stricter measures to fix the current situation.
Toshio Nakagawa, president of the Japan Medical Association, on Wednesday welcomed the government s plan to declare a state of emergency but said it should look into the possibility of expanding coverage of the declaration to the whole country.
Residents in the area subject to the emergency Tokyo and the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama will be asked to stay home. The government will also call for businesses including restaurants, entertainment facilities and department stores to close earlier.