government officials say the declaration could happen as early as this week. it s likely to be in place for around a month. the measure will apply to kanagawa, saitama and chiba prefectures as well as the capital. a state of emergency gives governors the legal authority to ask residents to cooperate with their antivirus efforts. currently there are no penalties for failing to comply, the suga says the government will change that. the government declared a similar state of emergency last april that lasted over a month. tokyo governor koike yuriko and other governors requested this move on saturday. she says the central government reacted fast. translator: tokyo and the three prefectures will work effectively and as one on measures of transportation, working from home and flextime. we ll be working closely with the central government. the government confirmed 884 new cases on monday. the number of seriously ill patients reached 108. the figure is the highest to date. me
government officials say the declaration could happen as early as this week. it s likely to be in place for around a month. the measure will apply to kanagawa, saitama and chiba prefectures as well as the capital. a state of emergency gives governors the legal authority to ask residents to cooperate with their antivirus efforts. currently there are no penalties for failing to comply, the suga says the government will change that. the government declared a similar state of emergency last april that lasted over a month. tokyo governor koike yuriko and other governors requested this move on saturday. she says the central government reacted fast. translator: tokyo and the three prefectures will work effectively and as one on measures of transportation, working from home and flextime. we ll be working closely with the central government. the government confirmed 884 new cases on monday. the number of seriously ill patients reached 108. the figure is the highest to date. me
translator: tokyo relies on three things to protect the lives of residents. we need to prevent deaths, serious cases, and the collapse of the medical system. with serious cases going up, the tokyo government has raised its alert for the health care system to the highest level. one medical expert told nhk infections are spreading faster than expected and could stretch the city s health care system beyond the brink. he says hospitals that provide specialty treatment are now caring for people with covid-19. translator: so, for example, if you find out you have cancer, you find out that you have heart problems, the hospitals you would go to are treating coronavirus patients. now routine treatment for other life-threatening ailments are being compromised. he stressed simple measures like washing your hands, staying home, and wearing a mask could make a major difference. the virus is also spreading outside tokyo. the national tally for friday stands around 2,800. more than
736 infections were confirmed. the total number of cases confirmed in tokyo since the start of the pandemic now stands at 53,130. concern about the spread of a new variant of the virus is causing major disruptions in the united kingdom as some countries have banned passenger flights from britain. japan s government says it will refuse new entries from the uk for the time being. translator: the government will continue to protect people s health. our top priority is ensuring everyone is safe and secure over the year-end holidays. we will implement border controls to prevent new coronavirus infections. chief cabinet secretary kato katsunoba said japan s stepped-up measures will take effect from thursday. he said japanese and nonjapanese residents who take short business trips to the uk will be asked to self-quarantine up to 14 days upon return. kato said japanese nationals returning from the uk will be asked from december 27th to provide proof they were tested within 72 hou
the 71-year-old veteran politician will succeed abe shinzo who has resigned to deal with health issues. suga supported abe as chief cabinet secretary for more than seven years. he says he will push forward abe s policies to deal with the coronavirus and revitalize the economy. he also vows to push forward administrative and regulatory reforms. the emperor cerememonially endorseded suguga in his cabine line with the constitutional requirements. suga will hold a news conference at 9:00 p.m. local time to talk about his priorities and the challenges he s about to take on. we ll bring it to you live. now here s a quick look at the life of the country s new leader. reporter: nearly every day for the past eight years, suga yoshihide has stood here taking questions from reporters especially in a tim they faced tough criticism to unpopular policy decisions. the top spopokesperson seemed unflappable. reporter: then he took this step into the glare of the public eye. suga unveiled