Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Spectators wearing masks watch the final day of action at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Jan. 24, 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday admitted Japan's medical system has been ill-prepared to deal with the surge in COVID-19 patients, acknowledging that more lives may have been saved had proper treatment been available.
- Japan plans to secure about 20,000 freezers for hospital storage of coronavirus vaccines, as the country steps up preparations for their delivery, government officials said Tuesday.
- Shipments of laptop computers in Japan surged 25.1 percent in 2020 to hit a record high due to increased teleworking amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and the government's policy to supply computers to each elementary and junior high school student, an industry body said Tuesday.
- All Nippon Airways Co. said Tuesday it will suspend services on 16 international flight routes from late March due to falling travel demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Japan's House of Representatives is set to approve Tuesday a third supplementary budget for fiscal 2020 totaling 19.18 trillion yen ($185 billion) to fund additional government measures to counter the novel coronavirus pandemic.
- Corporate executives and labor unions on Tuesday effectively began this year's spring wage negotiations amid expectations that the pace of pay increases will slow due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc. said Monday that its authorized COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be protective against emerging strains of the novel coronavirus first identified in Britain and South Africa.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, Jan. 25
- Japan will commence random mass PCR testing as early as March as part of efforts to ascertain the extent of the novel coronavirus' spread in city areas, government sources said Monday.
- The number of travel-associated novel coronavirus cases in Japan increased by nearly seven times after the government began a subsidy program aimed at promoting domestic tourism in July, a recent study found.
- Australia said Monday it has approved U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine, making it the first to get regulatory approval for use in the country.
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Japan will hold a coronavirus vaccination simulation in Kawasaki near Tokyo on Wednesday, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts said.
- At least 15,058 people were on the waiting list for a hospital or a designated accommodation after testing positive for the novel coronavirus earlier this month in the 11 prefectures covered by a state of emergency, a Kyodo News survey found Sunday, as public health centers have been swamped with surging numbers of new cases.
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