Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, March 13
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At least 30 out of 47 prefectures in Japan plan to start coronavirus vaccinations for the elderly in populous areas, as supplies in the first batch are expected to be limited when the rollout begins next month, a Kyodo News survey found Saturday.
- A record 2,172 minors aged under 18 years old were subjected to abuse in Japan last year, police data showed earlier this week, as the novel coronavirus pandemic made it difficult for welfare workers to intervene.
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The coronavirus pandemic prompted Tatsunori Jo, who learned medicine in Taiwan and Japan, to start online medical consultations and examinations in multiple languages.
- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach reiterated Friday that vaccination for the coronavirus will not be a requirement for athletes competing at the Tokyo Games following concerns about the slow pace of the vaccine rollout in Japan.
As of 11 p.m., Friday, March 12
- The leaders of Japan, the United States, Australia and India are set to hold a virtual meeting Friday to discuss the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries as they step up cooperation to counter China's growing influence.
- Thailand suspended the use of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday following reports of blood clots among people who received the vaccine in European countries, according to the Thai public health ministry.
- Japan is set to receive about 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. across May and June, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts said Friday, enough for nearly half of its population.
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E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. and Japan Post Holdings Co. have decided to form a capital alliance, sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday, in a bid to meet growing demand for online shopping and home deliveries amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Co. said Friday it has started manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine of Britain's AstraZeneca Plc in Japan, as reports emerged in some European countries of blood clots in people receiving the vaccine.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package to support businesses and households battered by the coronavirus pandemic, a major legislative win for the administration less than two months old.
- U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for doubling the production capacity for novel coronavirus vaccines to ensure global access as the world marks a year since the World Health Organization head termed the virus outbreak a pandemic.
- The French government said Thursday it will remove Japan and six other countries from a travel ban imposed on non-European Union nations since late January to prevent the spread of variants of the novel coronavirus.
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