Coronavirus outbreak updates: Dec. 22, 2020

As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 22

• Japan's death toll from the novel coronavirus topped 3,000 on Tuesday amid fears that a recent spike in the number of infections could further squeeze its health care system.
  
  
• Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force said Tuesday its top two officers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and will be working remotely under quarantine.
  
  
• An apparent surge in unintended pregnancies since April as the coronavirus pandemic forces people to spend more time at home has prompted the health ministry to launch a nationwide study in order to come up with more effective policies to support women.
  
  
• Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will suspend operations at its plants in Britain and France following logistical disruptions caused by the recent border closure related to the discovery of a new strain of the novel coronavirus in England.
  
  
• The United States on Monday began offering shots of a second type of vaccine to prevent the coronavirus disease, becoming the first country to put U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc.'s vaccine into practical use.
  
  
• Singapore received its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for COVID-19 on Monday, becoming the first country in Asia to receive the shots.

As of 11 p.m., Monday, Dec. 21

• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Monday denied the need to declare another national state of emergency, even as the latest surge of coronavirus cases sent cumulative infections in Japan to over 200,000 and health experts warned that the medical system is becoming strained.
• Local South Korean governments announced Monday a plan to ban gatherings of more than 4 people in Seoul and surrounding metropolitan areas to stem the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
  
  
• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday he does not plan to dissolve the House of Representatives for a general election until Japan brings the outbreak of the novel coronavirus under control.
  
  
• Japan has yet to confirm any cases of a new fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus that has been detected in Britain and other parts of the world, the government's top spokesman said Monday.
  
  
• A number of countries in Europe and beyond decided Sunday to tighten their borders to travelers from Britain amid growing fears over a new strain of the novel coronavirus detected in the country.