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Updated January 19th, 2022 at 13:49 IST

Japan PM Fumio Kishida plans to impose restrictions amid rise in COVID-19 cases

As the COVID-19 cases continue to rise driven by the Omicron variant, the Japan government is all set to announce new restrictions in Tokyo and other regions.

Reported by: Apoorva Kaul
Japan
IMAGE: AP/Unsplash | Image:self
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Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the Japanese government is all set to announce new restrictions in Tokyo and other regions. The plan to impose restrictions in 13 areas has been approved by the government-commissioned expert's panel on Wednesday, 19 January, according to AP. The new development regarding the announcement of the COVID restrictions has been confirmed by the Economy Revitalisation Minister Daisharo Yamagiwa. 

The 13 regions of Japan will be put under restrictions from Friday until February 13. The restrictions will be announced by Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the government taskforce meeting on Wednesday. Experts have suggested that the highly transmissible, Omicron variant, has resulted in a number of health workers and others getting infected with the virus, as per the AP report. The sharp rise in COVID-19 cases has started to affect hospitals, schools and other sectors in some areas. As per the news report, the government will announce restrictions for some areas, including three other prefectures Okinawa, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi which had been placed under restrictions earlier this month.

COVID-19 cases rise in Japan

The government is taking action following requests by local governors, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who raised concerns about the possibility of essential public services, such as public transportation and garbage collection, getting impacted due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, as per the news report. So far, Japanese authorities have avoided using lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19. Instead, the government has been directing restaurants and bars to close early and not serve alcohol. Furthermore, the government has urged the country's population to wear masks and follow social distancing. As per the news report, Tokyo reported 5,185 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. 

COVID-19 situation in Japan

According to Japan Health Department, as of 19 January, 32,197 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,933,052. 10 new deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 taking the total number of fatalities to 18,436. According to AP, about 80% of Japanese have received their first two vaccine doses and 1% of the population have received the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Inputs from AP

Image: AP/Unsplash

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Published January 19th, 2022 at 13:49 IST

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