Local News

Updated Details For Fukuoka’s State Of Emergency (important)

In response to the national government’s inclusion of Fukuoka Prefecture in the ongoing state of emergency, the prefecture updated its requests for residents and local businesses to suppress the spread of the new coronavirus. Here are some key points that will be added to or changed to the ongoing requests.

On May 7, Fukuoka Prefecture reported a record high  472 new infections, while the occupancy rate of secured hospital beds stood at 64.1% (603/940 beds) as of May 6, and 30.1% (41/136 beds) for critical treatments.

State of Emergency Period: May 12 ~ May 31

*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.

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

Visitors to the following categories of 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. Department stores, shopping malls, sporting facilities including fitness gyms and yoga studios, pachinko parlors, game arcades, and other designated facilities with floor space of 1,000 m2 or more are requested to close at 20:00 or earlier. Similar facilities with smaller floor spaces are asked to close at 20:00 or earlier. (details)

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.

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.

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: NHK, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, NHK

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Category
Others
Fukuoka Prefecture
Published: May 8, 2021 / Last Updated: May 8, 2021

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