(On the lifting of the declaration of a state of emergency and other measures)

I am pleased to announce that the declaration of the state of emergency and other measures have been fully lifted as of today.

Some 70 percent of the population have already received at least one dose and 60 percent are about to complete two doses. We have surpassed the vaccination rate of the United States, even though we were trailing the United States by an enormous margin.

I am truly grateful to all those who extended their cooperation until now. I would also like to express my appreciation and respect for the efforts made by medical and nursing care professionals.

While restrictions on dining out and drinking and other events will be relaxed, in stages, we want to ask all of you to continue taking the basic preventive measures of wearing masks when talking and avoiding the three Cs [closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places and close contact situations].

We want to once again ask for your cooperation in order to restore daily lives in which we enjoy peace of mind.