Coronavirus outbreak updates: Feb. 9, 2021

As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9

• Japan is unlikely to inoculate as many people with Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine as planned due to a shortage of special syringes capable of extracting the final dose from vials provided by the drugmaker, health minister Norihisa Tamura said Tuesday.
  
  
• Calls are growing for China to take adequate responsibility to identify the origins of the novel coronavirus, first detected in its central city of Wuhan, before trying to boost its global clout through "vaccine diplomacy."
  
  
• Athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be asked to test for the novel coronavirus at least once every four days, the games organizers stipulated Tuesday in its playbook.
  
  
• An expert from the World Health Organization on Tuesday effectively rejected the possibility of the novel coronavirus having accidentally leaked from a controversial laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
  
  
• Average overtime pay in Japan in 2020 fell 12.1 percent from the previous year, the sharpest drop in 11 years, as the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to cut their operating hours, government data showed Tuesday.
  
  
• When the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, Japan's booming sauna industry had a problem: packed hot rooms seemed to violate all the new rules of social distancing and ventilation. But instead of spelling the end of the good times, the challenge has led to a burst of innovation, with the emergence of saunas for individuals and even outdoor versions in such scenic spots as riverbanks.
  
  
• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's Cabinet decided Tuesday to disburse 1.14 trillion yen ($11 billion) from reserve funds for fiscal 2020, mainly to increase subsidies for coronavirus pandemic-hit sectors following a one-month extension of the latest emergency declaration.

As of 11 p.m., Monday, Feb. 8

• Tokyo confirmed 276 new coronavirus cases Monday, marking the lowest daily infections in more than two months under an extended state of emergency in the capital and other areas.
  
  
• Japanese precision equipment maker Shimadzu Corp. started selling on Monday test kits that can detect coronavirus on inanimate surfaces, including doorknobs, faucets and computers, for the first time in the world.
  
  
• Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi plans to put off a visit to the United States in February after Washington showed hesitance about the idea due to the coronavirus pandemic, sources close to bilateral ties said Monday.
  
  
• A raccoon was spotted roaming in central Osaka past midnight earlier this month, in a rare sighting highlighting how measures against the coronavirus have left one of the country's busiest entertainment districts deserted late at night.
  
  
• U.S. President Joe Biden said Sunday the decision on whether the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should go ahead this summer must be "based on science."
  
  
• The Japanese government will draw up guidelines on how to safely transport COVID-19 vaccines, health minister Norihisa Tamura said Monday, as it steps up preparations to distribute shots to the country's population of 126 million.
  
  
• Japan's travel surplus in 2020 shrank to nearly one-fifth of the previous year, the first drop since the balance turned into the black in 2015, as international travel bans amid the coronavirus pandemic had a huge impact on the number of inbound visitors, government data showed Monday.
  
  
• Parents with kids in some nurseries in Japan have been put on the spot by being asked to consider keeping their kids at home to help reduce the number of children in the facilities' care and curb the risk of coronavirus infections.
  
  
• Cambodia on Sunday received its first batch of 600,000 doses of novel coronavirus vaccine donated by China.

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