Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Photo taken Feb. 16, 2021, shows a van equipped for providing coronavirus vaccinations in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18
- Japan expanded its COVID-19 vaccine rollout beyond the Tokyo metropolitan area on Thursday, with health workers set to be inoculated at 100 hospitals across the country by next week.
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday inspected the country's vaccination program against the novel coronavirus at a Tokyo hospital, the first institution to begin inoculations the previous day.
- The United States will provide over $200 million in funding to the World Health Organization by the end of February as a step toward fulfilling its financial obligations as a member country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a U.N. Security Council meeting Wednesday.
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 17
- Participants at a three-day COVID-19 working meeting on Wednesday called criticism of the currently published Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic coronavirus countermeasures welcome but also premature.
- The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan plunged 98.3 percent in January from a year earlier to 46,500, down for the 16th straight month, after the country suspended the entry of all nonresident foreign nationals due to a surge in coronavirus cases, government data showed Wednesday.
- Another ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker quit the party Wednesday following a report that he visited a luxurious Tokyo nightlife venue despite government calls to avoid unnecessary outings under a state of emergency to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
- Questions and answers regarding COVID-19 vaccines and how to get vaccinated in Japan.
- Japan begins administering a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday to an initial group of 40,000 health workers, before expanding to cover the elderly and people with preexisting conditions.
Health workers at the Tokyo Medical Center are pictured at their hospital in Tokyo's Meguro Ward on Feb. 17, 2021, after they were administered the first COVID-19 vaccines under Japan's anti-coronavirus vaccination project. The country is starting with an initial group of 40,000 health workers before expanding the rollout to the elderly and people with preexisting conditions. (Pool photo) (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
