Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
- Japan plans to relax its rules on holding big events from Friday as planned, boosting the maximum number of people allowed at an indoor venue to 5,000, a state minister in charge of the government's coronavirus response said Monday.
- About a third of parents in Japan postponed vaccinating their children during the novel coronavirus pandemic amid fears of catching an infection, a survey by a nonprofit organization showed Monday.
- Tokyo confirmed 102 new daily coronavirus infections on Monday, topping the triple-digit mark for the fifth straight day.
- Re-elected Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Monday she will make preparations to launch a center for disease control in the Japanese capital as part of her campaign pledges made for a second term, to cope with the spread of the novel coronavirus.
- Fujitsu Ltd. said Monday it will halve its office space in Japan by March 2023 as it pushes for more of its 80,0000 employees to work remotely amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
- The border between Australia's two most populous states -- New South Wales and Victoria -- will close for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic, state officials said Monday, after a sustained spike in virus cases in Melbourne, Victoria's capital city.
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- Gov. Yuriko Koike won a second term in Sunday's Tokyo gubernatorial election, vowing to respond firmly to a second wave of coronavirus and coordinate with the International Olympic Committee over the postponed Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.
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