Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
People take a selfie in front of the painting "Mona Lisa" at the just reopened Louvre museum in Paris on July 6, 2020. The museum reopened almost four month after the new coronavirus pandemic forced it to close. (Kyodo)
As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 7 (Japan time)
- Municipal authorities in China's capital Beijing on Tuesday reported no new cases of the novel coronavirus for the first time in around four weeks since the detection early last month of a virus cluster at the city's biggest wholesale market.
- Australia's second most populous city, Melbourne, will go back into a six-week-long lockdown following a prolonged spike in coronavirus cases, the Victorian state's Premier Daniel Andrews announced Tuesday.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government on Tuesday confirmed 106 new coronavirus infections in the capital, surpassing the 100 mark for the sixth straight day, an official said.
- An increasing number of municipalities in Japan are conducting individual medical checkups of infants and toddlers following a decision to suspend group examinations due to worries about the spread of the coronavirus.
- International students attending American high schools or universities will have to leave the country or risk deportation if their classes shift entirely online in the fall in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government said Monday.
- The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on global supply chains and the international community must come together to prevent such crises in the future, Japan's annual white paper on trade said Tuesday.
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As of 11 p.m. Monday, July 6 (Japan time)
- 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.
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
People walk under umbrellas in Fukuoka's Tenjin commercial district in southwestern Japan on July 7, 2020. The weather agency maintained its highest-level warning the same day on heavy rain for parts of Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Saga prefectures. (Kyodo)
