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On August 25, 2021, the Prime Minister held the 75th 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,
 
 “The number of nationwide new cases continues at record-high levels, and in particular, the Chukyo area, among others, has seen a sharp increase. The public health center system and healthcare delivery system have been in a severe state.”
 
In light of these circumstances, for the period from August 27 to September 12, we have decided to add Hokkaido, Miyagi, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Okayama, and Hiroshima Prefectures to the areas subject to the declaration of a state of emergency and newly apply priority measures to prevent the spread of disease in Kochi, Saga, Nagasaki, and Miyazaki Prefectures.
 
Our highest priority is the expansion of medical systems to protect the lives of the people. First of all, for patients recuperating at home, we will establish a locally-tailored system that enables local clinics where the patients first visited and other facilities to monitor their health, provide counseling, and offer medical consultations via telephone until public health centers respond to those patients. For pregnant women, we have decided that in each area, we will secure advanced medical institutions that can respond in emergencies to prepare for cases where they become infected.
 
Based on the Infectious Diseases Control Law, the Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government jointly requested all medical institutions in Tokyo to admit as many patients as possible, to further secure hospital beds, and to take other measures the other day. We will also expand temporary facilities for recuperation by installing beds in large-scale facilities other than hospitals and setting up equipment for oxygen administration.
 
New neutralizing antibody drugs are highly effective in preventing patients from developing severe symptoms. We have already administered the drugs to 10,000 patients in 1,400 medical institutions. Although the drugs have been used only for hospitalized patients thus far, we will permit the use of the drugs for outpatients to make them easier-to-access for many more people, thereby widely preventing the development of severe symptoms.
 
In order to prevent infections, we will be thoroughgoing in the shortening of business hours of dining and drinking establishments as well as organized entry into large-scale commercial facilities. We will also review guidelines by industry, including those for department stores, in response to the rapid expansion of infections.
 
Additionally, we will implement thorough measures against infections in schools, as the new school term is nearing. We will distribute testing kits for approximately 800,000 tests to kindergartens as well as elementary and junior high schools for early detection and response. We will promote the utilization of large-scale vaccination centers and other facilities to make sure that faculty and staff who wish to receive vaccines can do so at the earliest possible time. Furthermore, we will swiftly put forward guidelines so that schools and local governments can identify those who have been in close contact with infected persons and make appropriate decisions on temporary school closure and other measures if cases emerge in schools.
 
As the Delta strain is highly infectious, we need further cooperation from the public in order to overcome this crisis. I ask each minister to make all-out efforts in the expansion of medical systems, infection prevention measures, and vaccinations.”