Coronavirus outbreak updates: Jan. 29, 2021

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

Investigative team members of the World Health Organization leave their hotel by bus in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 28, 2021, after quarantining for two weeks. They started a full-fledged probe the same day in the city, where the novel coronavirus was first detected in late 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

As of 9 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.

As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 28

Global public debt is estimated to have reached 97.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product at the end of 2020, as countries took aggressive fiscal action to cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.
Japan's parliament enacted Thursday a third extra budget for fiscal 2020 totaling 19.18 trillion yen ($185 billion) to ramp up measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic, despite criticism of the government over how the money will be used.
Japan's wine imports in 2020 decreased 7.0 percent from the previous year on a volume basis, as stay-at-home requests amid the novel coronavirus pandemic dampened demand from restaurants and bars, government data showed Thursday.
The so-called world's largest human migration period began on Thursday in China ahead of the Feb. 11 start of the weeklong Lunar New Year holidays, amid mounting concern over another wave of novel coronavirus infections at home.
The Philippines' economy shrank 9.5 percent in 2020 as coronavirus pandemic-induced restrictions caused a slump in economic activities, preliminary official data showed Thursday.
The Spring Grand Sumo Tournament will be moved from its traditional Osaka venue to Tokyo to limit the mass travel of wrestlers and staff during the coronavirus pandemic, the Japan Sumo Association said Thursday.
Experts from the World Health Organization on Thursday started a full-fledged investigation in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first detected in late 2019.
AstraZeneca Plc plans to produce over 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in Japan, or about 75 percent of what the country is set to receive from the British pharmaceutical firm, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
Asia-Pacific nations have been the most successful at containing the coronavirus pandemic, an Australian think tank said Thursday, with New Zealand and Vietnam ranking first and second in their response, with Japan lagging far behind.
Japan's ruling and main opposition parties agreed Thursday to scrap a plan to introduce imprisonment for coronavirus patients who refuse to be hospitalized, in response to criticism that it is too excessive.
The final artistic swimming qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics has been postponed from March to May due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Swimming Federation said Thursday.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Thursday his sole focus is on having a safe Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo, and he cannot yet say whether that means stadiums will be at full capacity.