Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend the annual Imperial New Year's Poetry Reading ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on March 26, 2021, postponed for about two months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Pool photo) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, March 27
- Tokyo confirmed Saturday 430 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the biggest number since Feb. 18, amid rising concerns over a resurgence of infections.
- The coronavirus pandemic has brought significant economic impacts in Japan, with the widening gap between the rich and the poor being a prime example.
- Japan's government is considering cutting the number of official Olympic-related travelers to Japan for the games this summer in half to around 30,000 as a countermeasure against the coronavirus pandemic, a source with knowledge of the matter said Friday.
- A total of 47 cases of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction, have been reported after some 580,000 shots of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine were administered to health workers in Japan, the health ministry said Friday.
As of 11 p.m., Friday, March 26
- Thailand's government said Friday that foreign tourists will be allowed to visit the resort island of Phuket from July without quarantine, as long as they are inoculated against the coronavirus.
- Japan reported Friday more than 2,000 new cases of the coronavirus in one day for the first time since early February, fanning concerns of a rebound less than a week after a state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures.
- Japan's Diet enacted Friday a record 106.61 trillion yen ($976 billion) budget for fiscal 2021 to finance steps to mitigate the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic as well as rising social security and defense costs, once again forgoing fiscal consolidation.
- The Indonesian government decided Friday to ban the public from leaving urban areas for their hometowns during the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday in May to reduce the risks of coronavirus transmission.
- Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako expressed their hope for the end of the coronavirus pandemic in poems recited Friday at the annual New Year Poetry Reading Ceremony which was postponed for over two months due to the health crisis.
- The Japanese government will not resume a subsidy program for promoting domestic tourism until June at the earliest due to concerns over a resurgence of the new coronavirus, even as a state of emergency was lifted for the last remaining area earlier this week, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Photo taken on March 26, 2021, in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, shows people wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic walking by a banner welcoming pitcher Masahiro Tanaka's return to the Rakuten Eagles. Japan's 2021 pro baseball season will open later in the day. (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
