The National Governors Association urged the central government to give prefectural governors the ability to request closures for schools hit by a rise in COVID 19 cases.
The request was included in a set of draft proposals covering the government's COVID 19 response. Governors are hoping for new measures that take the rapidly spreading omicron variant into account.
On the day after more prefectures were placed in the COVID- 19 pre-emergency stage, prefectural governors were able to ask restaurants to shorten their business hours, among other measures.
Tottori Gov. believes that we must curb the peak of the wave of infections as much as possible and limit the impact on society. Shinji Hirai, the head of the association, said at the outset of the meeting.
The association noted that the disease is not only in restaurants but also in schools and in people's homes.
The association urged the government to establish measures that are effective at fighting the omicron variant, and called for a review of the central government's COVID 19 response guidelines, compiled in November.
A stable supply of COVID- 19 test kits and a clear standard for which patients can stay home to recover are also among the proposals.