The Japanese government's subcommittee on coronavirus countermeasures on Friday proposed a continued suspension of a domestic travel subsidy program in some parts of the country, where medical systems remain under strain due to a spike in infections, although Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has ruled out suspending the entire scheme, Kyodo reported. The subcommittee called for the government to strengthen its antivirus measures, such as requesting restaurants that serve alcohol shorten business hours in areas where the four-tier virus alert is one notch away from the highest level, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan's virus response, told reporters after the group's meeting. Nishimura said the northern city of Sapporo and the city of Osaka in western Japan are likely to remain excluded from the "Go To Travel" campaign. The proposal comes a day after the country confirmed a record 2,973 daily infections, with a panel of medical experts advising the Health Ministry on virus response that the government's countermeasures have not been sufficiently effective at reducing the number of patients. The panel has also said cases have started to increase in areas that had been free of clusters, including Hiroshima, Kochi and Fukuoka prefectures, and urged the public to refrain from traveling during the year-end holidays. Speaking on an online program the same day, Suga said that while the program's suspension is currently not on the cards, Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan's virus response, is discussing the panel's recommendations with the relevant heads of local governments. Following the panel's meeting, its head Shigeru Omi stressed the need to bolster antivirus measures in tier 3 areas, especially in parts where infections are high. "I want governors to demonstrate leadership and take preemptive measures, and the central government to back them," said Omi as he highlighted a disconnection between the central and local governments in their responses so far. Tier 3 is a situation in which infections are spreading. On Friday, three sub-levels were created including areas classified as seeing a spread of the virus and areas where infections are running high. A separate panel of medical experts advising the Health Ministry on its response said that the government's countermeasures have not been sufficiently effective in reducing the number of patients. The panel has also said cases have started to increase in areas that had been free of clusters, including Hiroshima, Kochi and Fukuoka prefectures, and urged the public to refrain from traveling during the year-end holidays. — SPA/Kyodo
