Coronavirus outbreak updates: Jan. 30, 2021

Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:

People wearing face masks walk in Tokyo's Shinjuku area on Jan. 29, 2021, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 30

Japan began arrangements Saturday to extend the state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic for up to another month in Tokyo and other areas continuing to see a high number of infections, sources familiar with the matter said.
The use of masks for television personalities on camera is recently garnering debate among the public and entertainment industry in Japan after news anchors on a major broadcaster began wearing them during a program.
Tax-deductible donations to local governments that allow people to receive gifts of local specialties in return have seen a spectacular jump during the coronavirus pandemic, city officials and operators of donation websites say.
Major U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson said Friday that its single-dose experimental vaccine was 66 percent effective in preventing the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in a late-stage global clinical trial.

As of 11 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29

Only around 37 percent of firms in prefectures under the state of emergency in Japan have met the government's target of cutting commuters by 70 percent or more to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a survey released Friday by the country's largest business lobby Keidanren.
An influx of people into Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures slowed down in 2020, apparently influenced by a high number of coronavirus cases reported in the Japanese capital, government data showed Friday.
A team from the World Health Organization on Friday began face-to-face talks with Chinese experts over the origins of the novel coronavirus in the central city of Wuhan, where it was first detected in late 2019.
Japan's consumer confidence continued to worsen in January amid the government's latest state of emergency declaration to combat the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Friday.
ANA Holdings Inc. reported Friday a record net loss of 309.58 billion yen ($2.96 billion) in the April to December period, as the major Japanese airline has been reeling from the global coronavirus pandemic that hurt travel demand at home and abroad.
As Japan struggles to contain a recent surge of coronavirus infections, preventing the virus from spreading within households has become a major challenge.
South Korea is preparing to start vaccinating its people against the coronavirus in February, with plans to start inoculating the general public in July so they can reach herd immunity in November.
Japan's job availability ratio in 2020 logged the sharpest drop since 1975, while the average unemployment rate marked the first rise in 11 years, highlighting the magnitude of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on workers, government data showed Friday.
Painstaking preparation is in progress in Japan ahead of the planned rollout of coronavirus vaccinations by late February, with authorities holding a test run at a local gymnasium in Kawasaki where nurses simulated inoculations of volunteers.
U.S. biotechnology firm Novavax Inc. said Thursday its experimental vaccine was about 89 percent effective in preventing the disease caused by the novel coronavirus during a late-stage clinical trial conducted in Britain.
The European Union said Thursday it has decided to reinstate a travel ban from Japan as the country struggles to cope with a surge of novel coronavirus cases, having declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas.