Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government decided Thursday to place Tokyo under a fresh COVID-19 state of emergency for the duration of the Olympics in an effort to curb a recent surge in infections.
The measure, to be effective from Monday to Aug. 22, will see the Summer Games held without spectators at venues in and around the capital, dealing another blow to the event that was postponed by one year due to the pandemic.
"We must take stronger steps to prevent another nationwide outbreak," Suga said at a task force meeting in the evening, voicing concerns over an increase in people venturing outside and the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus first detected in India.
Sorry. This article is no longer available.
Sorry, this article was first published more than three months ago and is temporarily unavailable.
Once the upcoming introduction of a paid membership system is fully operational, paid members will have access to all our stories.
Free Membership Provides
Newsletter from Editorial Team and access to archive articles from past three months.
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Use,
and Privacy Policy.
