Coronavirus outbreak update: Dec. 25, 2020

As of 11:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 25

• Japan has confirmed its first cases of the new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain, the health ministry said Friday as the daily number of new infections topped 3,800 for the first time, with the number of deaths also setting a new record at 64.
  
  
• Tokyo reported its second-highest daily increase of 884 new coronavirus infections on Friday, with cases continuing to rise unabated in the capital and several other areas across the country.
  
  
• Japan's unemployment rate improved to 2.9 percent in November for the first drop in five months, in a sign that the novel coronavirus pandemic's impact on the labor market is easing, government data showed Friday.
  
  

As of 11:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 24

• Japan confirmed over 3,700 coronavirus cases Thursday, marking the highest daily tally for a second straight day, as Tokyo and several other areas continued to report record numbers of infections amid growing concern over the strain on the medical system.
  
  
• The Japan Football Association decided Thursday to halt general ticket sales for the Emperor's Cup and national high school championships after the government retightened entry limits for large-scale events in response to rising coronavirus infection numbers.
  
  
• The process to remove melted fuel from one of the crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, initially planned to start in 2021, will be delayed by at least a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Thursday.
  
  
• China's trade with North Korea plunged to its lowest level for a second straight month in November as Pyongyang has been bolstering measures to curb the entry of the novel coronavirus into the country, foreign affairs experts said Thursday.
  
  
• People in Japan are embracing a different way of celebrating Christmas, with more opting to stay at home and order high-end dinners amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• Tokyo reported a record 888 daily coronavirus infections on Thursday, amid growing concern over the strain on the medical system.
  
  
• U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc. said its COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be protective against variants of the novel coronavirus recently detected in Britain, based on data to date.