[T]he governor announced he would lift the state of emergency, but asked residents to continue to restrict social interaction and stay home if they felt unwell. He also said Hokkaido would keep 34 government-run facilities closed, as well as many schools. He called it “The Hokkaido Model,” in which residents would work to prevent infection while still continuing social and economic activities.
The announcement lifting restrictions came just before a three-day weekend; Hokkaido residents spilled onto streets and lingered in cafes, celebrating the conclusion of their weeks-long confinement. That likely kicked off the second wave of infections, says Nagase.
Further fueling it, people from other parts of Japan saw that Hokkaido had relaxed restrictions and began travelling there. Some were university students in big cities, who returned home to Hokkaido when classes were cancelled in April, says Nagase. Others were employees of large companies that typically start new job rotations at that time of year; when the state of emergency was lifted, businesses sent a fresh crop of workers from Tokyo and Osaka to Hokkaido.
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