Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Monday, Aug. 24 (Japan time)
- Hong Kong has restarted discussions with Japan and a handful of other countries over setting up travel bubbles, commerce chief Edward Yau said Monday, given a mutually recognized coronavirus testing mechanism is established.
- Japan decided Monday to keep limiting the maximum number of spectators at professional sports, concerts and other events to 5,000 until the end of September, although the spread of the novel coronavirus has shown some signs of abating, government officials said Monday.
- Japan and Myanmar agreed Monday to reopen borders for expatriates as soon as early September relaxing travel restrictions that were imposed to stem the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic.
- More than 2 million people have used Japan's travel subsidy campaign since it kicked off in July in a bid to revive a domestic tourism industry hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the country's top government spokesperson said Monday.
- Tokyo confirmed an additional 95 coronavirus infections on Monday, marking the lowest daily figure in more than a month, the metropolitan government said.
As of 10 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 23 (Japan time)
- Japan and Laos agreed Sunday to allow expatriates to resume traveling as early as September, provided they stay home for 14 days after entering their respective countries as part of measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
- Over 70 percent of disabled Japanese athletes aiming to compete in next summer's Tokyo Paralympics are worried about pursuing their sports due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government on Sunday reported 212 new cases of the novel coronavirus, topping 200 for the fourth straight day.
- India reported Sunday that its coronavirus cases have topped 3 million, a sign the world's second-most populous country is struggling to slow the spread of the virus.
- The executive chairman of China's Trip.com Group Ltd., Asia's biggest online travel agency, has said he wants to see Japan and China reopen their borders to each other for leisure travel "later this year," projecting a strong recovery in tourism demand despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - August 15~21
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"
- Available in Simple Japanese and English, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Also available in Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese on designated weekdays. Check schedule here.
03-6233-9266 - 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