Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
People wearing face masks walk on a street lined with bars and restaurants in Tokyo's Yurakucho area on Feb. 13, 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14
- The New Zealand government imposed a lockdown for three days in the country's largest city Auckland from midnight Sunday after the discovery of coronavirus infections in a family.
- Japan formally approved Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine on Sunday, the first to be greenlit for domestic use, and is set to start inoculating health workers in a matter of days.
- As the Japanese government prepares to roll out novel coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday to fight the pandemic, skepticism in some sections of the public may hamper the effort.
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13
- More than half of 78 listed Japanese regional banking groups and banks saw a decline in their net profits or incurred red ink in the April-December period, hit by the coronavirus pandemic, an analysis of their earnings reports showed Saturday.
- Exports from six Southeast Asian countries fell 2.2 percent in 2020 from a year earlier to a combined $1.35 trillion, a relatively small decline despite the coronavirus pandemic hitting the region and other parts of the world, according to data from the Japan External Trade Organization.
- Global air passenger traffic in 2020 sank a record 65.9 percent from the year before amid tighter border controls due to the coronavirus pandemic, with a rebound to around half of 2019 levels expected this year, an industry group said.
- The debate about whether the Tokyo Olympics should go ahead this year has led some organizers to question their involvement, but for 3x3 basketball tournament coordinator Susumu Ebihara, it has clarified his mission to move forward and shine a spotlight on the sport.
- Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven countries on Friday emphasized the importance of supporting pandemic-hit economies toward a recovery, with the United States calling for further fiscal aid and vowing to return to multilateralism.
A bar in Tokyo's Ginza area is empty on Feb. 13, 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==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)
https://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/chiiki_tabunka/tabunka/tabunkasuishin/0000001452.html - 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/ - Tokyo Metropolitan Government hotline
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/contacts
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (including weekends and holidays)
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"
https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/hotline/
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas) - 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
