Skip to content

Japan eases virus emergency ahead of Olympics

In Tokyo, new cases are down to 500 per day from about 1,100 in mid-May
25536481_web1_210611-RDA-Tokyo-Olympics-still-undecided-on-fans--or-no-fans-at-all-olympics_1
Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health Director General Nobuhiko Okabe speaks during a press conference after a roundtable on COVID-19 countermeasures at Tokyo 2020 Games in Tokyo, Friday, June 11, 2021. A group of experts participated in a third roundtable on COVID-19 countermeasures proposed for audience-related infection control. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)

Japan has announced the easing of a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and six other areas next week, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in just over a month.

Japan has been struggling since late March to slow a wave of infections propelled by more contagious variants, with new daily cases soaring above 7,000 at one point and seriously ill patients straining hospitals in Tokyo, Osaka and other metropolitan areas.

Daily cases have since subsided significantly. In Tokyo, new cases are down to 500 per day from about 1,100 in mid-May. That paved the way for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to downgrade the state of emergency when it expires on Sunday to less stringent measures. Suga says the relaxed measures will focus on early closures of bars and restaurants. Those measures will last until July 11. The Olympics are scheduled for July 23-Aug. 8.

If another surge occurs and strains hospitals, the prime minister says, “we will quickly take action, including strengthening of the measures.”

— The Associated Press

RELATED: Physician warns Tokyo Olympics could spread variants