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On March 5, 2021, the Prime Minister held the 57th 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:

“Thanks to the cooperation extended by the public, the daily number of newly confirmed cases has fallen by more than 80 percent since its peak, and most indicators for the prefectures subject to the declaration of a state of emergency meet the criteria that we originally targeted. However, we continue to see severe situations in some indicators, such as high hospital bed occupancy ratios.

Against this backdrop, we have decided to extend the declaration of the state of emergency for the four prefectures of Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa until March 21, in order to contain the spread of infections while at the same time carefully observing the situation further. We will work in cooperation with the local governments in these four prefectures to thoroughly implement the ongoing measures, including shortening of the operating hours of dining and drinking establishments. In other areas, we will continue to implement measures to prevent infections, without lowering the sense of urgency.

We ask the public to refrain from dining in large numbers on occasions such as graduation ceremonies, school entrance ceremonies, welcome and send-off parties, and cherry blossom viewing. In the areas where the declaration has already been lifted, we ask that people dine only with family members whenever possible, or in groups no greater than four.

In order to detect any new outbreak at an early time, we will conduct monitoring surveys in places such as entertainment districts, and intensive testing at elderly care facilities and other institutions.

As the battle against the novel coronavirus becomes prolonged, I will convene a ministerial meeting as early as mid-March and compile a package of assistance measures for female non-regular employees, single parents, and others facing difficulties in finding employment, people feeling anxious from undesired solitude or isolation,.

I ask each minister to continue to thoroughly implement measures, following today’s decision, to protect the lives and livelihoods of the citizens.”