TOKYO, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Schools reopened their doors to many students across Japan on Monday after being closed for more than a month in a bid to curb the spread of the COVID-19, with shutdowns again likely as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to declare a state of emergency over the virus situation here.
Abe is expected to declare a state of emergency over the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan as early as Tuesday, to cover seven prefectures and to be effective from Wednesday until May 6, government sources said Monday.
If a state of emergency were to be declared by Abe, the government would have extended powers to instruct people to stay home on a regional or national basis, restrict the use of locations that facilitate large groups of people gathering or cancel large scale events all together, and issue closures to schools.
Schools in areas that have seen surges in cases recently however, and others where instances of the virus have been steadily increasing, including Tokyo, have remained shuttered and will likely stay closed for another month, relevant education boards said Monday.
Despite the likelihood of the schools being requested by some prefectural authorities to again suspend their classes following Abe's declaration, with some local governments who were planning to reopen their schools now reversing their decisions and extending closures, a number of schools opted to still hold entrance and opening ceremonies Monday.
According to local media, such opening ceremonies were held at some schools in Tokyo for each grade, Japan's epicenter of virus, with the schools saying they will close their doors for regular lessons henceforth.
Similarly in Tokyo's neighboring Yokohama, the education board said its schools will remain closed until at least April 20.
Aichi Prefecture, also heavily affected by the virus outbreak, also held ceremonies at some of its schools, although will shutter them again from Tuesday, as did those in Hyogo and Kumamoto prefectures, whose closures will be reinstated until at least April 19, the local boards of education said.
Many schools across Japan were closed at the beginning of March as part of a concerted government effort nationwide to contain the new coronavirus and combat its further spread in Japan.
Abe announced the school closure plan at the end of February and made the request to local governments to shutter their schools and for the schools to remain closed nationwide until early April.
The education ministry subsequently made the request to local education boards, with Japan's education minister Koichi Hagiuda requesting that all children not attending elementary, junior and high schools in the country that have been closed to contain the coronavirus to remain indoors while at home.
