Warning of new variant more dangerous than Delta; 6 Japanese prefectures placed under state of emergency
Japan has decided to extend its Covid-19 containment measures to more than 70% of its population, amid a surge in new infections that could overwhelm hospitals nationwide.
According to Reuters, the new measures announced by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on August 5 will declare a state of “quasi-emergency” for 8 more of the country’s 47 prefectures. Some experts in the land of the rising sun warn that the rising infection rate is serious enough to declare a nationwide state of emergency.
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| Photo: Nikkei Asia |
Currently, six prefectures in Japan are under a full state of emergency, including Tokyo, and five other areas are under less stringent measures. When the new rules come into effect on Sunday, more than 70% of Japan's population will be under restrictions.Covid-19to some extent
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said the Japanese government is not currently thinking about imposing a nationwide state of emergency, but will instead focus on localized, targeted measures targeting hotspots.
Warning of dangerous new variant
Axios news site quoted the US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci as saying that if the number of Covid-19 infections in the US does not decrease in the fall and winter, the US will face a new variant of the coronavirus that is more dangerous than the current highly contagious Delta variant.
Fauci also predicted that the number of Covid-19 cases per day in the US will reach 200,000 in the next few weeks. In early January, the number of Covid-19 cases in the US nearly reached 300,000/day but by early June, it had dropped to less than 10,000 cases.
Update on global Covid-19 developments
- Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, entered its sixth lockdown, with state leaders blaming the country's slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.
- The administration of US President Joe Biden is taking the first steps toward requiring most international travelers to the US to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the AP news agency quoted a White House official as saying.
- Reuters news agency quoted Moderna company as saying on August 5 that the vaccine produced by this company remains 93% effective for about 6 months after the second injection.
- Germany, France and Israel will push ahead with plans to administer Covid-19 vaccine boosters despite calls from the World Health Organization (WHO) to delay them until more people around the world have been vaccinated. French President Macron said France is working to start giving third doses to the elderly and vulnerable from September.
- The French Constitutional Court has ruled that a new law requiring people with a health pass to enter bars and restaurants is legal.
- The Covid-19 vaccine rollout in England, United Kingdom is estimated to have directly prevented more than 66,900 hospitalisations, new figures from Public Health England show.