COVID state of emergency in Tokyo not being considered now: PM Kishida

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday he is not considering declaring a state of emergency in Tokyo over a recent spike in novel coronavirus cases amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.His remarks came amid pressure on the government to again place Tokyo under a state of emergency, with the capital reporting 11,751 daily coronavirus cases the same day. The occupancy rate for designated COVID-19 hospital beds stood at 49.2 percent, approaching the 50 percent threshold for the metropolitan government to consider requesting a state of emergency to strengthen anti-coronavi…READ FULL ARTICLE