Coronavirus outbreak updates: March 17, 2021

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

As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, March 17

Japan said Wednesday it will tighten border controls on travelers from seven additional countries, mainly from Europe, in response to the spread of new variants of the novel coronavirus detected in the states.
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in February fell 99.3 percent from a year earlier to 7,400 due to reintroduced travel restrictions on business travelers amid a surge in coronavirus cases, government data showed Wednesday.
The government plans to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency covering the Tokyo metropolitan area as scheduled on Sunday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.
Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and other major Japanese manufacturers offered pay hikes at annual wage negotiations Wednesday, but the pace of wage growth across all sectors is expected to slow this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As Japan prepares to expand the scope of its coronavirus vaccine rollout to the entire population, 62.1 percent of people expressed a willingness to receive a shot, a recent online survey by a Tokyo-based medical school has shown.

Australia said Wednesday it will send 8,000 doses of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine from its own supply to Papua New Guinea to help the Pacific island nation combat a spike in coronavirus cases.
The Philippines will ban foreigners and returning citizens except overseas workers from entering the country for a month from Saturday until April 19 amid increasing coronavirus cases, the government said Tuesday.

As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, March 16

Thailand resumed its rollout of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, which had been suspended since Friday following reports of blood clots among people who had received the vaccine in European countries, according to the Thai public health ministry.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga received his first dose of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine at a Tokyo hospital on Tuesday, getting the shot in front of cameras to reassure the Japanese public about its safety.
France, Germany and Italy said Monday they have decided to suspend the use of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Britain's AstraZeneca Plc as a precautionary measure following reports of blood clots among those who received the shots in Norway.
The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee will likely consider the option of conducting coronavirus tests on participating athletes every day, instead of every four days as currently planned, in the wake of new virus variants spreading, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.