Robert Besser
14 Jan 2022, 08:41 GMT+10
TOKYO, Japan: Nearly all international travelers will be prohibited from entering Japan in February, in a bid to fight the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Additionally, closing the country's borders will allow for more quickly delivering COVID-19 booster vaccines to senior citizens, as well as increasing capacity at hospitals in anticipation of large numbers of admissions due to Omicron, according to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Japan had reduced border restrictions in November after a rapid drop in the COVID-19 case count, though swiftly restoring the ban on nearly all international visitors following the surfacing of the Omicron strain.
Kishida noted that rigorous border restrictions had aided in slowing the transmission of the Omicron strain, while deeming the closure as a time-buying measure to prepare for a looming spike.
In the first week of January, Kishida imposed a COVID-19 pre-emergency status in Hiroshima, Okinawa, and Yamaguch, after the cities recorded an increase in cases seemingly transmitted from the United States military bases. In keeping with the restrictions, restaurants were called upon to reduce their operating hours.
However, the pace of deployment of booster shots, with medical officials prioritized in December, has been sluggish. Until January 7, only 0.6 percent of the Japanese populace had been administered a third vaccine.
Kishida has since confirmed that to quicken the administration of booster vaccines, mass inoculation centers are to be opened throughout the country.
On January 11, Tokyo recorded 962 new cases of the coronavirus disease, increasing six times from the previous week. Across Japan on January 10, some 6,438 additional cases were reported.
Get a daily dose of Manila Metro news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Manila Metro.
More InformationCAIRO, Egypt: Egyptian authorities have prohibited swimming in a stretch of the Red Sea after an Australian woman was killed ...
Tokyo, Japan: On June 28, Japan baked under intense heat for a fourth successive day, with temperatures breaking nearly 150-year-old ...
SHANGHAI, China: Walt Disney Company reopened Shanghai Disneyland on 30th June, one month after the city lifted a two month ...
LISBON, Portugal: Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe walked out of the opening cermonies of this week's United Nations Ocean Conference ...
Beijing - China's foreign minister called for Myanmar's junta to hold talks with its opponents Sunday during his first visit ...
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday pledged further military support to Ukraine, including armored vehicles and drones, while meeting ...
CAIRO, Egypt: Egyptian authorities have prohibited swimming in a stretch of the Red Sea after an Australian woman was killed ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Bette Nash, age 86, has been named the longest serving flight attendant in the world, ...
LONDON, England: A UK parliamentary committee has told lawmakers that they may not bring babies to parliamentary proceedings and debates.The ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Hershel "Woody" Williams, the final surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War Two, has died at a ...
SEATTLE, Washington: A Norwegian cruise liner has canceled its sailing and returned to port after damage was discovered following its ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said that since the U.S. and its allies imposed sanctions on Moscow ...