According to The Mainichi Shimbun, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has requested that venues shorten their business hours for a three-week period as the metropolis continues to register high numbers of new Covid-19 cases. This applies to restaurants that serve alcohol, bars, and nightlife businesses such as karaoke parlors. The government is asking venues to close at 10pm starting this Saturday November 28 and until Thursday December 17.
The Tokyo government will also compensate complying restaurants with financial support of up to ¥400,000. A similar request was made to businesses in Tokyo back in August when restaurants and nightlife venues were asked to close by 10pm due to a rise in coronavirus cases.
As reported by Bloomberg, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is also urging people to stay home and avoid going out for non-essential trips. With the recent surge, Tokyoites have already been asked to take on new precautionary measures dubbed as the 'Five Ss', such as keeping gatherings small, short and separated.
These calls from the government follow the record-breaking numbers of daily new infections seen in Tokyo lately. The number of seriously ill patients has also hit a high of 54 people – the highest since the state of emergency back in May.
At the time of writing, there are 38,197 confirmed cases in Tokyo.
Follow live updates on the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in Tokyo and Japan here.
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