Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, June 17 (Japan time)
- Beijing municipal authorities said Wednesday more than 130 coronavirus infections have been discovered since last Thursday in the wake of the detection of a cluster at the city's biggest wholesale market.
- Japan received an estimated 1,700 foreign travelers in May, an all-time low for the second consecutive month, amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday.
- Manchester United player Marcus Rashford on Tuesday succeeded in pressuring the British government into reversing a decision to cut free school meals over the summer holidays.
- Japan's exports and imports in May both posted the largest year-on-year drops in more than 10 years, reflecting rapidly weakened overseas demand as the coronavirus pandemic continued to slow economic activities globally, government data showed Wednesday.
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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.
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