緊急宣言延長、２日に決定　１カ月程度、栃木は解除検討―政府

　政府は新型コロナウイルス感染拡大に伴い、７日を期限に１１都府県で発令中の緊急事態宣言について、２日に延長を決定する方針を固めた。期間は１カ月程度で調整。感染状況が比較的落ち着いている栃木県は解除を検討する。複数の関係者が明らかにした。
　政府は２日、専門家による基本的対処方針等諮問委員会から意見を聴取する。その後、西村康稔経済再生担当相が衆参両院の議院運営委員会に事前報告し、対策本部で延長を決定。菅義偉首相が記者会見し、延長の理由や今後の対応を説明する。
　西村氏は１日の衆院内閣委員会で、宣言延長に関し、「近日中に諮問委員会を開いて私どもの考えを示し、専門家の意見を聞いた上で判断していきたい」と述べた。
　新型コロナ感染症対策分科会の尾身茂会長は内閣委で、宣言対象地域の状況について「まだ感染水準が高く、医療の逼迫（ひっぱく）は続いている」と説明。その上で「比較的低位に感染レベルを維持できるような仕方で解除することが必要だ」と指摘した。（2021/02/01-12:34）

The Japanese government is set to decide Tuesday to extend for about a month its fresh state of emergency over the novel coronavirus, which is in place in Tokyo and 10 other prefectures, informed sources said Monday.
   The state of emergency is currently scheduled to run until Sunday. The emergency declaration entered into force on Jan. 8 for Tokyo and neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, and on Jan. 14 for the eastern prefecture of Tochigi, the central prefectures of Aichi and Gifu, the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo, and the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka.
   The government will consider lifting the emergency for Tochigi, where coronavirus infection has apparently subsided, the sources said.
   On Tuesday, the government will hear the opinions of an advisory committee of experts, and then economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of the government's coronavirus countermeasures, will report in advance the planned extension of the virus emergency to the steering committees of both chambers of the Diet, Japan's parliament.
   Later in the day, the government will decide the extension at a meeting of its coronavirus response headquarters, to be followed by a press conference by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is expected to explain the reasons for the extension and measures that would be taken.