Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Tourists disinfect their hands before boarding a tourist boat for watching "ukai" traditional cormorant fishing on the Nagara River in the city of Gifu, central Japan, on June 15, 2020. (Kyodo)
As of 11:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 16 (Japan time)
- The annual snow festival held in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo in February will be scaled down next year with the sculpting of large-scale ice statues canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, organizers said Tuesday.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government on Tuesday reported 27 new coronavirus infections, an official said.
- The Japanese government stressed the need for individuals to take their holidays at different times of the year in its annual tourism report released Tuesday to reduce congestion and the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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Beijing municipal authorities said Tuesday that 27 infections with the new coronavirus have been newly confirmed, bringing the total to over 100 in the last six days following the detection of a cluster at the biggest wholesale market in the Chinese capital.
- Japan's agriculture and the food industry face a serious drop in demand as well as a labor shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic, a government report said Tuesday.
- Antibody tests for the novel coronavirus suggest a 0.1 percent infection rate in Tokyo, health minister Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday, as the government seeks to better grasp the scale of the pandemic's spread in Japan.
- Indonesia, in cooperation with a Chinese drug maker, will launch the final stage of testing for a new coronavirus vaccine candidate next month and hopes to enter production early next year if the upcoming trial is successful.
- U.S. regulators on Monday revoked the emergency use of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which President Donald Trump previously said he was taking based on the belief that it would protect him against the novel coronavirus.
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As of 11 p.m., Monday, June 15 (Japan time)
- Beijing municipal authorities on Monday confirmed a fresh cluster of new coronavirus cases at the biggest wholesale market in the Chinese capital, with the central government instructing the city to take "decisive steps" to prevent further infections.
- Japan will ease travel restrictions imposed to keep the novel coronavirus pandemic in check, starting with flights to Vietnam on a limited basis later this month, government sources said Monday.
- Reigning champions Yokohama F Marinos will face the Urawa Reds at Saitama Stadium when the J-League first division resumes following a roughly four-month break on July 4, according to a new match schedule released Monday.
- A group of professors in Japan sent a petition to the education ministry Monday demanding it scrap "discriminatory" criteria for foreign students to be eligible for cash handouts to mitigate financial difficulties amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Japan Airlines Co. said Monday it will resume at full capacity boarding and security operations for domestic flights at Tokyo's Haneda airport in July with traffic expected to increase as coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted.
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 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
Police officers patrol near Jingshen seafood market in Beijing on June 15, 2020. A lockdown was imposed on the biggest wholesale market in the Chinese capital as a fresh cluster of new coronavirus cases were reported at the site. (Kyodo)
