Following the central government's declaration of a state of emergency on April 7, the Sakura city government canceled its annual Sakura Tulip Festa for a week and closed the parking lot.

However, as people could freely enter the square, visitors flocked to the site anyway during the first weekend after the emergency declaration. This forced the city to make the tough decision to cut off the flowers on April 14 and 15 to discourage crowds and prevent close-contact settings.

Some of the flowers from 100 species of tulip were donated to a nursery school in the city.

"It's sad, but we have to stop the spread of the virus as quickly as possible," said an official of the Sakura City Tourist Association. "We hope the day comes soon when we can all enjoy the flowers again."

In Japan city square, 800,000 tulip heads lopped off to deter visitors

CHIBA, Japan - About 800,000 colorful tulips in bloom were cut from their stems at the Sakura Furusato Square in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, to help deter visitors as a measure to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.