３道県「まん延防止」開始　北海道・岐阜・三重―政府、変異株防止に全力

　政府は９日、新型コロナウイルスの緊急事態宣言に準じた対応を可能とする「まん延防止等重点措置」の対象に北海道と岐阜、三重両県を追加した。宣言発令地域を含め、政府は自治体と連携し、各地で猛威を振るう変異ウイルスの拡大抑止に全力を挙げる。
　重点措置については宮城県が１１日をもって解除される。これにより、延長が決まった埼玉、千葉、神奈川、愛媛、沖縄５県と合わせた８道県が適用対象となる。期限はいずれも今月末。飲食店への営業時間短縮要請を徹底する。（2021/05/09-00:08）

A novel coronavirus state of pre-emergency started in three additional prefectures in Japan on Sunday, allowing local authorities to take stricter measures aimed at forestalling the surge of infections with variant strains.
   Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, and the central prefectures of Gifu and Mie were added to the list of areas in pre-emergency stage, while Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, came off from the status.
   With pre-emergency measures extended for Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Ehime and Okinawa, a total of eight prefectures are now covered by the pre-emergency designation, which will be in place through the end of May.
   Bars and restaurants in the eight prefectures are being requested to shorten business hours to prevent infections.
   The central government has decided to extend the coronavirus state of emergency for Tokyo and the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo until May 31, beyond the initially planned expiration date of Tuesday, while expanding the area coverage to include Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures, effective on Wednesday.