Japan’s Abe Asks People to Shun Bars, Night Clubs to Avert Virus

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on people nationwide to refrain from visiting late-night entertainment venues to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Abe mentioned bars, night clubs and live music venues as examples of places to avoid, in comments Saturday at a government panel charged with determining measures to fight the pandemic. There were 197 new coronavirus cases in Tokyo on Saturday, the highest daily tally so far, Kyodo News reported.

The prime minister is now calling on all of Japan to avoid such venues, compared with a plea earlier this week to refrain from visiting them in Tokyo and six other districts subject to an emergency declaration. Abe’s administration declared a month-long emergency Tuesday, fueling concern that a plunge in business activity will cause a sharp economic downturn.

See also: Tokyo’s Shutdown Plan to Curb Virus Spread Leaves Pubs Open

Abe also called for at least a 70% decrease in the number of workers that are commuting to work, and asked relevant authorities to request that companies comply with this, according to Kyodo.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.