TOKYO -- Responding to a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday evening declared an expanded state of emergency in the capital's neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, as well as Osaka.
The alerts will last until Aug. 31, as will current emergencies within Tokyo and Okinawa. "I want [people] to act carefully about visiting families and other activities" over the summer holiday season, Suga said.
