Key words : tighten rule
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201226_14/
The Japanese government has tightened its rules for travelers from South Africa, where a new variant of the coronavirus was detected.
Japan started refusing arrivals from South Africa on Saturday. Japanese and non-Japanese who have resident status in Japan are allowed entry. But they are being asked to self-quarantine for 14 days on arrival in the country.
Japanese returning from South Africa are being asked to provide proof that they tested negative sometime within 72 hours before leaving the country. Non-Japanese with resident status in Japan have already been asked to do the same.
Similar measures are in place for people arriving from Britain, where another new variant of the virus is spreading.
Japan confirmed on Friday that five people returning from Britain have tested positive for the new strain. They arrived in Japan sometime between December 18 and 21.
Japan's health ministry says it believes the five individuals have not spread the virus in Japan as they have been self-quarantined at hotels after testing positive during airport health checks.
Japanese officials are also seeking to speed up the process to determine if airport arrivals who recently stayed in Britain are infected with the new variant. They are arranging for the National Institute of Infectious Diseases to quickly obtain samples collected at airports for analysis.
Key words : reported a record
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201226_15/
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has reported a record 949 new cases of coronavirus infection in the Japanese capital on Saturday.
The previous record marked on Thursday was 888.
The total number of people who have tested positive in Tokyo now stands at 55,851.
Key words : Suga
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201225_20/
Japan's prime minister said his administration will consider revising the law so that subsidies and penalties can be used in combination to enforce shorter business hours at bars and restaurants.
Suga Yoshihide mentioned the plan at a news conference on Friday. He called on people to avoid gatherings during year-end and New Year holidays to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.
Suga said infections are spreading mainly in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, with the nationwide toll surpassing 3,000 on a daily basis.
Noting that foot traffic in Tokyo has barely gone down, he said a further rise in infections would be inevitable unless changes take place.
Suga said the holidays offer a chance for friends and families to meet. But he urged the public to cooperate and avoid gatherings as much as possible.
The prime minister said experts have consistently pointed to the infection risks of dining out, and that shortening the business hours of bars and restaurants is said to be the most effective countermeasure.
Suga said the government will consider revising the special measures law covering the coronavirus, so that subsidies would be paid to businesses that comply with requests for shorter hours. Those that refuse would face penalties.
Suga also noted that a panel of experts advising his government is divided between those who support penalties and others who are cautious about limiting the rights of private companies. He said he will ask the panel to promptly study the issue.
Key words : shibuya
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201226_06/
Giant advertising screens on buildings overlooking a popular scramble crossing near Tokyo's Shibuya Station will be turned off earlier than usual on New Year's Eve, as one of the efforts to deter people from gathering amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Shibuya Ward Office asked operators of 13 large screens in and around Shibuya's main intersection to switch the screens off from 11 p.m. on December 31, two hours earlier than last year.
The ward had already decided to cancel its annual year-end countdown events this year.
Railway operators serving Shibuya Station have also decided not to run trains all night on New Year's Eve into New Year's Day.
Meiji Jingu, a major shrine in Shibuya Ward, will shut its gates from the evening on December 31 till the morning on January 1, while calling on people to stagger their visits over the coming weeks to avoid congestion.
The ward's Mayor Hasebe Ken says that in the past people celebrated New Year's Day boisterously, but this year he is asking them to refrain from visiting.
Key words : top us expert
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201226_03/
The top US expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has suggested that herd immunity against the coronavirus could be reached if 70 to 90 percent of the population are vaccinated or become infected.
Fauci, who is helping to guide the US government's coronavirus response, shared his view in an interview with The New York Times released on Thursday.
Asked about what portion of the population must acquire resistance to the coronavirus, Fauci answered, "We really don't know what the real number is. I think the real range is somewhere between 70 to 90 percent, but I'm not going to say 90 percent."
Fauci initially estimated immunity at between 60 to 70 percent, as other experts did.
Weeks before the interview, Fauci said he had hesitated to publicly raise his estimate because many Americans seemed hesitant about receiving vaccines.
Key words : indonesia
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201226_16/
People in Indonesia's Aceh province held a memorial service on Saturday to remember the more than 160,000 victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami 16 years ago. The ceremony was live-streamed online amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A major earthquake off the island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004, sent tsunami waves over a wide area ranging from Southeast Asia to eastern Africa. More than 220,000 people in total were killed or went missing.
About 130 people attended the ceremony that began at 8 a.m., local time, around the time the quake hit. The service was on a much smaller scale than usual due to the pandemic.
Participants offered prayers and sang songs for the victims.
A civic group from the Japanese prefecture of Miyagi, hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, sent a video message, calling on people in Aceh to continue efforts to hand down their experiences to future generations.
Since the 2004 disaster in Aceh, reconstruction work has progressed with houses and shops rebuilt even in hard-hit areas. At the same time, people appear to have become less cautious about tsunami, which poses a challenge for anti-disaster efforts.
A 50-year-old man who lost his wife and two children in the tsunami said he feels like he has lost everything. He said people should continue basic drills to prepare against possible disasters.
Key words : vatican message
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20201226_08/
Pope Francis has called on the world's nations to share their COVID-19 vaccines, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation so that everyone can receive needed health care and vaccines.
Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message virtually to the world from inside the Vatican, rather than from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica before crowds numbering in the tens of thousands.
In the Friday message he said, "At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters."
The pontiff added that, "Faced with a challenge that knows no boundaries, walls cannot be built. We are all in the same boat."
In his message, Pope Francis also shared his thoughts about the many children all over the world, particularly in countries such as Syria, who are suffering from humanitarian crises.
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿