After the Covid-19 coronavirus state of emergency was lifted in May, Tokyo followed through with its reopening plan, allowing all businesses to resume trading, including bars and nightlife venues. Across Japan, indoor events up to 5,000 people have been given the green light and it looks like entry restrictions for foreign residents could be relaxed soon.
Unfortunately, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Tokyo has been increasing, reaching a record of 243 new cases on July 10. After reporting 165 new cases today, Tokyo has issued a level four coronavirus alert, the highest on the city’s new coronavirus monitoring system.
According to Japan Today, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said ‘The experts just told us that the situation of infections is at the fourth level of the four-level system, which means “the infections seem to be spreading.’’’ This is the first time Tokyo has issued a level four alert since Koike announced the new coronavirus alert system on June 30.
Japan Today also reports that a large percentage of the new cases are young people. There has been an increase in testing across the city, with cases traced to Tokyo’s nightlife districts of Kabukicho and Ikebukuro, but also some offices and workplaces.
To reduce the risk of cluster infections, the Tokyo government is offering ¥500,000 to nightlife venues willing to close for at least ten days. The national government still has no plans to announce another state of emergency. So far, despite the new alert, Tokyo has not asked businesses to close or called for any events to be postponed.
At the time of writing, there are 8,189 confirmed cases in Tokyo.
Keep up to date with the coronavirus situation in Tokyo and Japan here.
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