Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
The opening ceremony for the 32 teams that had been selected for the canceled spring invitational high school baseball championship is held at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, western Japan, on Aug. 10, 2020. Following the cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Japan High School Baseball Federation decided in June to invite the 32 teams to play at the iconic stadium in Hyogo Prefecture without spectators in a friendly series over a six-day period. (Kyodo)
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 11 (Japan time)
- President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia has become the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine, and that one of his daughters has already been inoculated.
- Conforming to social norms is the primary motive for Japanese people wearing face masks during the novel coronavirus pandemic, survey results recently showed, dismissing the oft-touted reason that wearers are putting them on to protect themselves and others.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said four new cases of coronavirus were confirmed late Tuesday, ending the country's streak of 102 days without community transmission.
- Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former director general of the World Health Organization who oversaw the U.N. agency's response to the SARS crisis between 2002 to 2003, criticized the United States for being "counterproductive" during the novel coronavirus pandemic and leading an "assault" on multilateralism.
- A court found a 38-year-old man guilty Tuesday for obstructing business at a central Japan town hall in April by acting like a person infected with the novel coronavirus and attempting to spread it to workers.
- The Philippine government needs to do more than divide society and demonize journalists and opposition leaders as it seeks to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country, Maria Ressa, award-winning Philippine journalist and CEO of news site Rappler, recently told Kyodo News.
- Tokyo confirmed an additional 188 coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the metropolitan government said.
- Sagan Tosu manager Kim Myung Hwi has tested positive for coronavirus, the J-League first division side said Tuesday.
- Ninety-one people at a high school in the western Japan prefecture of Shimane have tested positive in recent days for the novel coronavirus in a cluster outbreak centered on the boys' soccer team, according to local authorities.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide has surpassed the 20 million mark, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University of the United States.
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Some mothers are worried about transmitting the novel coronavirus to their newborns during nursing, after it was reported in Japan that a mother's breastmilk tested positive for the virus causing COVID-19. Medical organizations differ on how to tackle the issue, although at least one doctor is urging calm, arguing that there is no evidence of a child being infected through breastfeeding.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, Aug. 10 (Japan time)
- Japan's total coronavirus cases topped 50,000 Monday, increasing by 10,000 in just one week, as urban centers including Tokyo and Osaka continue to see high levels of infections since the central government fully lifted the nationwide state of emergency in late May.
- New Zealand has recorded zero community transmissions of coronavirus for over 100 days, following a strict nation-wide lockdown earlier in the pandemic.
- More than 60 percent of volunteers registered for next summer's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are worried about how anti-coronavirus measures will be implemented and the format of the events, according to a recent survey by the games' organizers.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - August 1-7
A father and his one-year-old daughter play in a river in Tokyo on Aug. 8, 2020. The family gave up visiting his parents' home in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, and instead opted to spend the summer near their Tokyo home amid the continued spread of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)
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
