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On February 26, 2021, the Prime Minister held the 56th meeting of the Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, the participants discussed the response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
 
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said:
 
“Since we declared the state of emergency in January, we have managed to reduce the daily number of newly confirmed cases significantly, in a visible manner. The number of hospitalized patients and patients with severe symptoms is also continuing to decrease. Medical institutions are still facing a severe situation. However, we have heard that the burden on the health professionals working at the forefront has decreased, compared to those during the hardest period of time. Taking into consideration such situations in each area, regarding prefectures subject to the declaration of the state of emergency, we have decided to lift measures in the six prefectures of Gifu, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka on February 28. Regarding Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo and Kanagawa, we will thoroughly implement the ongoing measures, including shortening of business hours of dining and drinking establishments, towards the end of the declaration on March 7.
 
In the six prefectures where we will lift measures, each prefecture will gradually ease its measure to shorten business hours of dining and drinking establishments, based on its assessment. In response, the Government will provide support up to a maximum of 40,000 yen in the form of cooperation money. We would like the business operators of dining and drinking establishments in these prefectures to adhere to the relevant guidelines, such as setting up acrylic panels and establishing space between seats. Some of our experts have raised that infections spread at the end of last year due to the influence of end-of-year parties. I ask my fellow citizens to continue to refrain from dining in large numbers. Furthermore, in order to prevent another spread of infections, I ask the national and prefectural governments to collaborate and conduct strategic testing, along with strengthening the respective medical treatment structure.
 
Today, we approved the response measures against the coronavirus variants that have been confirmed in 17 prefectures since the end of last year. From next month, we will implement testing with a new method that allows us to detect coronavirus variants in a short time in every prefecture, strengthen the monitoring structure in our country, and maintain sufficient vigilance.
 
First and foremost, it is important to end the declaration of the state of emergency in every area as planned on March 7, without letting our guard down until the end. I ask you to collaborate with the prefectural governments, raise awareness of the risk of infections from dining and other sources, and thoroughly implement basic preventative measures such as wearing masks, more than ever before.”