Okinawa asks to be part of state of emergency areas after reporting record 203 virus cases

Jeez, why don't they just declare a national state of emergency and just shut all bars restaurants and schools down for a month and just focus on getting the Jabs out there so we can return to some degree of normalcy?

The theme of the Japanese handling of the pandemic appears to be reacting instead of preventing.

They should have done this before GW, but Denny wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Now the infection numbers released today are at the highest. Since there wasn't a declaration, tourists flocked to Okinawa during GW and now Denny has to eat crow. Thanks for nothing.

Highway 58 was a steady stream of rental cars during GW. Same as during the "Go to spread Covid campaign" earlier this year. If you don't turn off the means to travel and party, people are going to ignore the "emergency" and keep carrying on. Okinawa likes to brag about the huge number of tourists that flow through every month.

This just shows how screwed up the central govt is here. Okinawa shouldn’t have to ask.

the idiots in Tokyo should know to do it

Notice how Denny always sends in the Lt Gov or one of the other flunkies to announce bad news? Rumor has it that the Lt Gov wants to quit and move on. Okinawa has asked for so much extra money from the Central Government and then squandered it, Denny always ends up meeting with a low ranking official when the goes to Tokyo with his hand out and his pocket book open.

Hasn’t always “reacting but stopping short of actually ‘acting” consistently been their theme with everything @virusrex 4:36pm?

“The theme of the Japanese handling of the pandemic appears to be reacting instead of preventing.”

Golden Week travelers...good job!

The theme of the Japanese handling of the pandemic appears to be reacting instead of preventing.

3/11

Nearly every prefecture that is remotely popular with tourists increased in Covid cases after Golden Week. We were sitting ducks and our local governments did nothing to stop people coming. Here in Miyazaki our businesses are suffering from it again.

What can you do?

soft, soft, soft!!!!

The numbers are increasing, I have to be careful or else I will be censored just for GW was a platinum week for the uptick

GOOD

Still not approved???.

China just vaccinated 100 million people in 9 days. Japan, not so much

Seems Tokyo and Osaka will start mass vaccination (whatever that means) next week, they can learn a thing or two here

Right request a state of emergency until the end of the month, 10 days! And what is going to change? Nothing, as the major shopping centers and other businesses are already closing by 8PM as well as bars, izakaya and anywhere else that sells alcohol.

Now if the government could magically stop all flights in and out of Okinawa, including military, then THAT would be something I could get behind!

Never gonna happen!

@ GBR48*

The Okinawa government would never admit to needing help from the US military. The majority of the military and associated civilians on Okinawa have been vaccinated already. Japan is good at spurning help during crisis.

Okinawa doesn't need to be cut off. Supply chains are important.

Given that Okinawa has a large US base and is a tourist destination, dependent upon revenue from tourism, the entire island might have been given priority for vaccinations. US forces could have made themselves useful and popular for a change and handled it. If the US is such a close ally, it could have stumped up the vaccinations.

Although Gibraltar is smaller, there are similarities. There was a determined attempt to vaccinate as many adults as possible there as quickly as possible.

The Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) has not been able to get the consent of business leaders for its request for the State of Emergency. That's one reason this request is coming so late. As a result, the OPG will not request that restaurants and bars stop selling alcohol. The surge in new cases is obviously a result of the 353% increase in travel to Okinawa over the Golden Week holidays. Those people who do not follow the COVID prevention guidelines are the cause of the outbreak. Now it's time for the vaccine campaign to be shifted into warp speed. (China just vaccinated 100 million people in 9 days. Japan, not so much)

Stupid but serious questions. Why not just vaccinate all athletes, trainers, staff and ban all spectators unless they can prove vaccination?