The governor of Fukuoka Prefecture officially announced on May 28, that the ongoing state of emergency in Fukuoka Prefecture will be extended until June 20. Requests for limited business operations and self-refraints on some nonessential activities among local residents would continue, as well as subsidy programs for companies experiencing reduced income.
Prefecture officials explained that the emergence and spread of more contagious variants of the virus, which have caused upticks in infections, are linked to the decision to extend the state of emergency. As of May 28, the regional occupancy rate for the new coronavirus treatment stood at 67.9%, and that for seriously ill patients was 47.6%.
Below is an updated summary of the prefecture’s requests for period within the state of emergency (as of May 29):
State of Emergency Period: May 12 ~ June 20
*For the period ~May 11, please see our former postings as of May 6 and April 22.
Outings <for residents>
People are asked to refrain from going outside unnecessarily during both day and night, especially after 8 p.m. Essential activities such as commuting (in case of necessity), buying groceries and other daily commodities, taking treatments at hospitals, walking, and jogging are exempted. Care to avoid crowded places and hours are requested upon essential travel. Residents are strictly asked to avoid visiting commercial facilities which do NOT cooperate with business closure requests or fail to implement anti-infection measures. Self-restraints on engaging in eating-and-drinking activities in a group on streets at parks are requested, along with similar activities with high risks of infection. Residents are strictly asked to refrain from visiting other prefectures.
Business closures <for eateries and related businesses>
Restaurants, cafes, yatai stalls, and other eateries which serve alcoholic drinks or provide karaoke services are requested to close temporarily unless they stop providing liquor and the use of karaoke machines. Operation hours should be within 05:00~20:00 and without serving alcoholic drinks. Cooperating companies are eligible for a subsidy program (details to be announced soon.) *Meal deliveries and sales of food to go are exempt from the above.
Customer facilities and attractions
Department stores, shopping malls (*except shops for essential items,) pachinko parlors, game arcades, and other designated facilities with floor space of 1,000 m2 or more are requested to close on Saturdays and Sundays*. Similar facilities with smaller floor spaces plus sporting facilities including fitness gyms and yoga studios are asked to close at 20:00 or earlier. The number of visitors at following facilities should be less than 5,000 persons AND less than 50% of the venue’s usual capacity: theaters, cinemas, halls (including those for banquets, meetings, exhibitions, etc.,) museums, aquariums, sports facilities, amusement parks, and more.
(*Sporting facilities including fitness gyms and yoga studios are exempted from the weekend-closure request during Jun. 1 ~ 20.)
Events
Events must end by 21:00, and the number of attendees should be less than 5,000 persons AND less than 50% of the regular capacity for the venue. Organizers are requested to follow guidelines for other business activities and must NOT provide alcoholic drinks. Organizers of event tours and large scale events that involve 1,000 persons or more are asked to consult the prefecture to confirm the proper guidelines to follow (*one month before the event date or earlier.)
Telework and other business environments
To reduce the overall volume of human interaction, companies are requested to introduce teleworking, rotating shifts, earlier and later commuting schedules, etc. Workers are also asked to avoid working after 20:00 unless it is essential to maintain their business. Employers are requested to recommend COVID-19 screenings to their employees and warn them to be cautious against infections at break rooms, changing rooms, etc. In addition to disinfecting offices and shop facilities, businesses are requested to prohibit the entrance of customers who unreasonably refuse to take infection prevention measures, including ‘mask-on dining’ (always covering the mouth with a mask while chatting at the meal table) and more.
Schools
School classes should continue while maintaining strict infection prevention measures. However, cancelations of some club activities and school events with higher risks of infections are requested.
The prefecture posted a list of common business categories.
In addition, the prefecture requests city lights to be turned off during night (except for those needed for safety reasons.) Also, Fukuoka City Subway announced rescheduling of its last trains to 1 hour earlier.
NOTE: As always, the above translation was done by Fukuoka Now for the benefit of those who cannot read Japanese. This is not an official translation, but for reference and for your convenience. Be safe.
Sources:
https://kbc.co.jp/news/article.php?id=7107436&ymd=2021-05-28
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210528/k00/00m/040/375000chttps://mainichi.jp/articles/20210528/k00/00m/040/375000c
https://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/138480.pdf
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