A Tourism Hotspot Locks Down as Japan’s Hokkaido Fights Virus
- At least 66 have tested positive for virus, highest in Japan
- Hokkaido popular among foreign tourists during winter
Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki declares a state of emergency during a meeting in Hokkaido prefecture, Japan, on Feb. 28.
Photographer: Jiji Press/Getty Images
Hokkaido in northern Japan is famed for its ski resorts, natural hot springs and flower-carpeted hills that make it a major tourism magnet. Now the most northern of the country’s four main islands is in virtual lock-down after an upsurge in coronavirus infections forced local authorities to declare a state of emergency.
Residents on the island roughly the size of Maine have been told to refrain from leaving their houses this weekend, Governor Naomichi Suzuki said in a hastily scheduled press conference. While the home quarantine will only run through the weekend, the state of emergency will remain in place until March 19, he said.