Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, June 10
- The Japanese government decided Thursday to lift the COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency in three prefectures after this weekend as infections have subsided.
- The U.S. government said Thursday it will purchase and donate 500 million doses of Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine to more than 90 lower-income countries and the African Union, an announcement that came just ahead of the Group of Seven summit meeting in Britain.
- The Japanese government is considering allowing elderly people nationwide to book coronavirus vaccinations at two state-run mass inoculation centers in Tokyo and Osaka, government sources said Thursday.
- The International Olympic Committee said Wednesday 75 percent of prospective Olympic and Paralympic Village residents have either already been vaccinated or are scheduled to be vaccinated, with the figure set to rise to over 80 percent when the games start. The village officially opens on July 14.
- The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee's plan to use GPS as one of the measures against COVID-19 is not intended to monitor the real-time whereabouts of people from overseas, but to trace and confirm their movements retroactively if a problem arises, its CEO said Wednesday.
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, June 9
- The Sri Lankan government said Wednesday it has asked the Japanese government to provide COVID-19 vaccine and has received a "positive response."
- Japan's COVID-19 vaccination efforts are picking up steam with many local governments set to expand their rollout to those under 65 this month, and preparations under way for on-site inoculations at workplaces and universities.
- The Japanese government plans to lift the COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency in three prefectures after this weekend as scheduled as infections are declining, officials said Wednesday.
- Japan will aim to further cut the number of non-athletes from abroad for next month's Tokyo Olympics and finish inoculating all citizens who want COVID-19 vaccines by November in an attempt to prevent the further spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.
- Australia has withdrawn from the final baseball qualifying tournament for this summer's Tokyo Games because of difficulties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the sport's national governing body announced Wednesday.
- The State Department on Tuesday eased its advisory that warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Japan, just two weeks after raising the alert to the highest level of 4 as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
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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