Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
(Playground equipment is off limits at a park in Tokyo on Children’s Day during the Golden Week holidays under an extended nationwide state of emergency)
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, May 7 (Japan time)
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, May 6 (Japan time)
- Teachers and other staff at a Fukushima Prefecture junior high school temporarily closed by the coronavirus pandemic got a surprise when they noticed a sports field that is normally bustling with students has become carpeted with pink flowers
- Japan plans to revise its criteria for testing people suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, its health minister said Wednesday, as the country continues to tackle cases of new infections.
- Without a rink to practice on due to the coronavirus pandemic, two-time defending Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu showed off partial renditions of his past programs in videos released on Twitter Wednesday by the Japan Skating Federation.
- Shanghai Disneyland will resume operations next week for the first time since Jan. 25, the theme-park’s operator said Wednesday.
- Economic and safety concerns mean demand for air travel is unlikely to bounce back immediately to levels seen before the coronavirus outbreak, an industry body said, citing the results of a recent survey conducted in 11 nations around the world.
- The Japanese government confirmed 120 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the lowest level since April, as the total number of cases topped 16,000 and the death toll rose by 10 from the previous day to reach 579.
Update!
List of shops closed in Tokyo following state-of-emergency extension
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) - AMDA Medical Information Center’s “Multilingual Consultation Service Regarding COVID-19”
(April 10~May 20, 2020)
– Available in English, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and national holidays. Also available in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Spanish, Vietnamese and Portuguese on designated weekdays. Check schedule here.
03-6233-9266
– Available in English and Chinese on weekdays only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
090-3359-8324 - Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s COVID-19 info
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/flow/ - Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s hotline
– Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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“
– Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001328767.pdf - 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
(Fireworks are set off in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, on May 5, 2020, in an event to hope for an early end to the coronavirus pandemic.)
