Japan recorded 99 new cases of the coronavirus and 23 related deaths on Thursday, as the government lifted the state of emergency across most of the country.
That raise the national total to 16,905 cases and 723 deaths. Of those, 712 cases and 13 deaths were from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked at Yokohama Bay under quarantine for two weeks in February.
Yesterday, Japan lifted its state of emergency for 39 of the country’s 47 prefectures. It had been in place nationwide since April 16.
Tokyo, Osaka, and several other hard-hit prefectures will stay under the state of emergency, and the government will reassess the situation on May 21.
The nationwide state of emergency was set to continue through May 31, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday he could end the order before its expiration date because he felt confident in the country’s containment efforts.
“Compared to other G7 nations, we could contain the infection cases and death per capita overwhelmingly,” Abe said.
