Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
- The South Korean government said Monday it will ease social restrictions and shift to "everyday life quarantine" on Wednesday, calling on the public to cooperate in its new campaign against the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which was scheduled to open later this month, will be canceled due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the sport's governing body said Monday.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended Monday the nationwide state of emergency until the end of May to reduce new coronavirus infections amid nascent signs of the epidemic leveling off.
- As Japan prepares for at least another month under a state of emergency, its large elderly population faces a double fight -- not just avoiding infection with the new coronavirus but also making sure the very measures taken to protect them don't cause their health to deteriorate.
- Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka swapped their rackets for Nintendo Switch controllers and met on court in the Mario Tennis Aces video game on Sunday during the "Stay at Home Slam," a virtual charity tournament featuring eight star players and their celebrity doubles partners.
- Singapore will allow companies to resume business operations gradually from May 12 while maintaining a partial lockdown until June 1 to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
- A number of Japanese groups offering humanitarian assistance abroad have recently been forced to evacuate staff due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, casting a shadow over their support for refugees and poverty-stricken regions.
- Rural Japan has largely avoided the worst of the novel coronavirus and is going to great lengths to keep it that way during the Golden Week holiday period.
As of 11:00 p.m., Sunday, May 3 (Japan time)
- Cases of hospitals in Japan turning away patients on ambulance transports, mostly because they are suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, increased more than fivefold in April from a year earlier, a survey by Kyodo News showed Saturday.
- The forced cancellation of major festivals and fireworks events next summer in Japan due to the coronavirus pandemic is frustrating for the host towns and cities that rely on the cultural and financial contribution they make to their local areas.
- Japan will allow the reopening of parks, museums, libraries and some other public facilities, even in areas with a relatively high number of coronavirus infections, a senior government official said Sunday.
- The Nagasaki prefectural government said Sunday it is sending 44 Indonesian crew members on an Italian cruise ship docked in southwestern Japan back home after they tested negative for the novel coronavirus.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to extend Japan's state of emergency by around a month through May 31 to fight the novel coronavirus, a government official said Sunday.
- The Japan Sumo Association is making arrangements to cancel the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which was scheduled to open May 24 due to the new coronavirus pandemic, multiple official sources said Sunday.
List of shops closed in Tokyo following emergency declaration
Useful resources for foreign residents and visitors in Japan
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "Tokyo Coronavirus Support Center for Foreign Residents (TOCOS)" multilingual hotline
- Available in Simple Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Khmer, and Burmese, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays except national holidays.
0120-296-004 (toll free) - AMDA Medical Information Center's "Multilingual Consultation Service Regarding COVID-19"
(April 10~May 20, 2020)
- Available in English, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and national holidays. Also available in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Spanish, Vietnamese and Portuguese on designated weekdays. Check schedule here.
03-6233-9266
- Available in English and Chinese on weekdays only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
090-3359-8324 - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's COVID-19 info
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/flow/ - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's hotline
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0570-550571
- Available via fax for those with hearing impairments
03-5388-1396 - Japan National Tourism Organization's "Guide for when you are feeling ill"
- Multilingual clinic/hospital search available in English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese
https://www.jnto.go.jp/emergency/eng/mi_guide.html - JNTO's "Japan Visitor Hotline"
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001328767.pdf - Japan's health ministry hotline
- Available in Japanese only, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0120-565653 - World Health Organization's "Q&A on coronaviruses"
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses