Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, May 12
- A system glitch caused by U.S. technology firm Salesforce.com Inc. disrupted Japan's coronavirus vaccinations Wednesday, forcing at least 11 municipalities to stop accepting reservations from the elderly.
- At least 31 municipalities have called off Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics "Host Town" programs to welcome overseas athletes for training camps and cultural exchanges before the games due to COVID-19 concerns, a government source said Wednesday.
- The government said Wednesday it will bar the entry of all travelers who have visited India, Pakistan or Nepal within the previous 14 days, except for Japanese nationals, in an effort to shield Japan from more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus.
- Japan is considering an additional payment of up to $700 million to the Covax Facility, a U.N.-backed program intended to ensure a fair supply of coronavirus vaccines in developing countries, government sources said Wednesday.
- Around 90 percent of those who received the vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. were found to have antibodies against the various COVID-19 variants detected in Japan, a university study showed Wednesday.
- India on Wednesday reported a record 4,205 COVID-19 deaths over a one-day period, bringing its total fatalities from coronavirus infections to 254,197, the third most in the world after the United States and Brazil.
- The number of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms in Japan has hit a fresh record of 1,189, up 13 from the previous day, the health ministry said Wednesday, as the country extended and expanded the scope of a coronavirus emergency.
- Around 280 certified sports doctors applied for 200 spots the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic organizing committee want to fill for this summer's games, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, May 11
- A 100-year-old Japanese woman who recovered from COVID-19 after being hospitalized for a month earlier this year says the key to beating the virus is to have faith that you will.
- Japan has started making arrangements to allow adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a rising number of coronavirus infections among young people, the top government spokesman said Tuesday.
- A Japanese publishing company on Tuesday took out a double-page spread in the morning editions of three major dailies to boldly criticize the government's poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Chinese authorities have decided to set a line of separation between the country and its neighbor Nepal on Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, in a bid to curb novel coronavirus infections, local media reported Tuesday.
- Japan will co-host an online summit on June 2 as part of global efforts to ensure a fair supply of coronavirus vaccines to developing countries, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.
- Tokyo on Tuesday reported 925 new coronavirus cases as concerns grow over an increasing number of infections caused by highly contagious variants of the virus.
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Japan's Naomi Osaka, the world No. 2 women's tennis player, said she is "not really sure" if the Olympics should go ahead this summer following a surge in coronavirus cases in Tokyo, the BBC reported on Monday, and Japan's top men's player Kei Nishikori expressed similar concerns over possible health risks at the games.
- A central Japan city admitted Tuesday it initially gave a pharmacy chain chief and his wife priority bookings for COVID-19 vaccination, in a revelation likely to anger seniors struggling to make reservations amid the slow vaccine rollout.
- U.S. regulators on Monday authorized the emergency use of Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine for adolescents as young as 12 years old, lowering the minimum age from 16.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - May 1~7
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