Coronavirus outbreak updates: Jan. 7, 2021

 

 

As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 7

• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in the Tokyo metropolitan area on Thursday, authorizing more robust measures to fight a recent surge in coronavirus infections.
  
  
• People in Japan on Thursday expressed anxiety about how their lives and businesses will be impacted by the imposition of another state of emergency in Tokyo and neighboring areas following record numbers of coronavirus cases.
  
  
• Tokyo reported a record 2,447 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, metropolitan government officials said, as the Japanese capital prepares to come under stricter measures to contain the pandemic.

As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 6

• Japan's daily coronavirus infections totaled 6,004 cases, topping 6,000 for the first time since the start of the outbreak last year, a Kyodo News tally based on official data showed Wednesday.

• The number of people using the shinkansen and conventional train services operated by Japan Railway companies plunged 68 percent during the year-end and New Year period from a year earlier to 4,879,000, marking the lowest level since comparable data were made available in 1991, six JR companies said Wednesday.
  
  
• Tokyo's daily coronavirus infections totaled a record 1,591 on Wednesday, officials said, as the rapid spread of infections shows no sign of abating across Japan.
  
  
• Yuichi Sugita, Japan's third-highest ranked male tennis player, revealed on Twitter late Tuesday evening he tested positive for the coronavirus.