TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga Friday extended the state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic covering the Tokyo metropolitan area by two weeks to March 21, as infection numbers have not fallen enough for the emergency period to be lifted as scheduled on Sunday. Suga made the decision to extend the state of emergency for Tokyo and the three surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama at a meeting of the government’s COVID-19 task force. The extension is the second one since Suga declared the emergency in early January, with the prime minister saying the measure is “necessary to protect lives and livelihoods.”Health experts and local officials have voiced concerns that lifting the state of emergency for the region too early could lead to a resurgence in infections and the medical care system once again becoming overly strained. Enditem