Staff members of Aichi Prefecture, wearing protective gear as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, check the body temperature of passengers arriving at Nagoya railway station on April 29, 2020, on the first day of a holiday period until May 6. (Photo by STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT (Photo by STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
Japan confirmed 187 new coronavirus cases and 17 deaths yesterday, according to the country’s health ministry.
That brings the national total to 14,993 cases and 458 deaths, the ministry said. Of that total, 712 cases and 13 deaths are linked to the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was docked in quarantine in Yokohama Bay for two weeks in February.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he plans to extend the nationwide state of emergency, which is scheduled to end on May 6.
“I think it will be difficult to return to normalcy from May 7. We have to prepare for some endurance. I’ll seek the opinions of experts on how long (the extension) needs to be,” he told reporters.
