Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:

People wait to take COVID-19 tests in Seoul on March 9, 2022, amid the spread of the Omicron variant. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

<March 9, 2022>

• Japan is set to remove the current spectator attendance limit for large-scale events as the spread of coronavirus infections slows, government officials familiar with the plan said Wednesday.

• Most foreign students waiting to study in Japan will likely be able to enter the country by the end of May, as a new priority entry program is set to begin amid softer COVID-19 border controls, the top Japanese government spokesman said Wednesday.

<March 5, 2022>

• New York Mayor Eric Adams said Friday the city will lift most of its COVID-19 restrictions and the vaccination proof requirement next week as the number of coronavirus infections has been rapidly dropping.

<March 4, 2022>

• China pledged Friday to maintain its radical "zero COVID policy," including complete quarantine and lockdowns when necessary, emphasizing that it has proved effective at containing outbreaks of the coronavirus.
  
  
• Japan reached the government's target of administering 1 million COVID-19 booster shots per day in mid-February as it accelerated the inoculation drive to stem infections driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the vaccine minister said Friday.

<March 3, 2022>

• Japan will ease its COVID-19 border controls further from March 14, raising the daily cap on entrants from overseas to 7,000 from the current 5,000, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.
  
  
• Many people with disabilities have additional underlying health needs that make them particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, so Winter Paralympians and their teams have to take extra precautions.
  
  
• Japanese police received 83,042 consultation requests regarding domestic violence in 2021, a record-high number for at least the past two decades, official data showed Thursday, as more people stayed at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

<March 2, 2022>

• Japan is considering further easing its COVID-19 border controls by raising the daily cap on entrants to 7,000 from the current 5,000, government sources said Wednesday.
  
  
• The government is set to extend the COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency in Tokyo and 14 prefectures as Japan has been facing a slower-than-expected fall in infection numbers due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, officials said Wednesday.
  
  
• South Korea reported over 200,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to spread.

<March 1, 2022>

• The Tokyo metropolitan government reported Tuesday 32 daily coronavirus deaths, matching a record high marked on Feb. 3 last year.

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Feb 26~March 4