Tokyo: The Japanese government has decided to put capital Tokyo under the fourth Covid-19 state of emergency, during the entire duration of ...
Tokyo: The Japanese government has decided to put capital Tokyo under the fourth Covid-19 state of emergency, during the entire duration of the Olympics to curb a recent surge in infections.
On Thursday the government announced that the emergency will be
effective from July 12 to August 22, which may result in the Summer Olympic
Games to be held without spectators at venues in the capital, Xinhua news
agency reported.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in a press meet said that the occupancy
rate of hospital beds and the number of patients in serious condition are low
due to the vaccine rollout, but infection cases in Tokyo are rising due to the
spread of the Delta variant.
“We must avoid another outbreak starting in Tokyo. So, we decided to
take pre-emptive measures, and declare a state of emergency for Tokyo once
again,” Suga was quoted as saying by the public broadcaster, NHK. With two
weeks until the Olympic Games, Suga pledged safety above all.
“Holding a safe and secure games amidst the pandemic is a good
opportunity to show our global unity to overcome the current difficulties
together,” he said.
Infection cases in the capital have been going up. Health authorities
reported 896 new infections on Thursday, making this the 19th straight day
cases have gone up compared to the week before.
Japan has reported 811,712 coronavirus cases, with 14,897 deaths till
date. Around 37,214,200 Covid vaccine have been administered in the country
till date.
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