Residents of the Japanese capital formed long queues at supermarkets and stores on Friday. It happened because of the preparation for a weekend at home. Instead of it, the cherry blossoms event should await due to the coronavirus.
After Tokyo’s governor urged them to stay indoors, people prepared their groceries at home. In addition, it aims to keep a coronavirus from spreading.
The governor’s plea to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings until April 12, and particularly this weekend, prompted a rush for supplies of everything from instant noodles to toiletries and fresh produce, despite warnings against hoarding.
Quoted from reuters.com, one of panic buyers, Yuri Inoue, a 31-year-old graphic designer, gave response to the coronavirus cases.
“If convenience stores and supermarkets stay open, people will stay calm,” she said.
According to reuters.com, the government should emphasize that point more strongly.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike appealed for calm, while repeating her request to avoid public gatherings at the weekend.
“But I am saying you can go to supermarkets to buy food or medicines or go to hospitals,” she told a city government meeting.
“I would like to ask Tokyo citizens for calm behaviour.”
This week, a surge in infections with 40 new cases on Friday. It has carried Tokyo’s tally to 299.
While the figure is not high for a city of nearly 14 million, experts have warned of a high risk of an “overshoot”, or explosive rise, since authorities have not been able to track all the contacts of more than half the newest cases.
No Viewing Cherry Blossoms This Year
Tokyo has also urged people not to congregate in parks for the famed traditional viewing of springtime cherry blossoms, and plans to shut zoos and aquariums for two weeks.
Koike asked people to wait until next year to glimpse the flowers. Regarding to that caution, Koike said, “The cherry blossoms will bloom again next year.”
A Tokyo government warned that parts of three of the city’s parks will be closed to the public after the flower-viewing season.
