The latest:
Japan expanded its coronavirus state of emergency on Wednesday for the second week in a row, adding eight more prefectures as a surge in infections fuelled by the delta variant strains the country’s health-care system.
The government last week extended the state of emergency until Sept. 12 and expanded the areas covered to 13 prefectures, up from six, including Tokyo. With four new prefectures added to a separate “quasi-emergency” status, 33 of Japan’s 47 prefectures are now under some type of emergency measures. Eight prefectures were upgraded from quasi-emergency status to a full emergency.
“In order to protect the people’s lives, the priority is to maintain the health-care system,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said as he announced the emergency. “In order to overcome this crisis led by the delta strain, I seek further co-operation from everyone.”
Japan’s state of emergency relies on requirements for eateries to close at 8 p.m. and not serve alcohol, but the measures are increasingly defied. Unenforceable physical distancing and teleworking requests for the public and their employers are also largely ignored due to growing complacency.
The Japanese capital has been under the state of emergency since July 12, but new daily cases have increased more than tenfold since then to about 5,000 in Tokyo and 25,000 nationwide. Hospital beds are quickly filling up, and many people must now recover at home, including some who require supplemental oxygen.
‘No signs’ of cases slowing in Tokyo
More than 35,000 patients in Tokyo are recovering at home, about one-third of them unable to find a hospital or hotel vacancy immediately. Only a small percentage of hospitals are taking virus patients, either for financial reasons or because they lack the capability to treat the infections, experts say.
Japan has weathered the pandemic better than many other countries, with about 15,600 deaths since the start, but its vaccination efforts lag behind other wealthy nations. About 40 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated, mainly elderly people.
Rising infections among schoolchildren and teenagers could accelerate the surge as they begin returning to class after the summer vacation, said Dr. Shigeru Omi, the top government medical adviser. He proposed schools curtail activity and urged high schools and colleges to return to online classes.
“Infections in Tokyo are showing no signs of slowing, and the severely tight medical systems will continue for a while,” he told a parliamentary session on Wednesday.
–From The Associated Press, last updated at 7:05 a.m. ET
What’s happening in Canada
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Health officials across the country are trying to keep COVID-19 cases under control and several provinces, including B.C., Manitoba and Quebec, are bringing back mask mandates for indoor public spaces and classrooms. 2:17
What’s happening around the world
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 213.6 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.4 million.
In the Americas, Pfizer is seeking U.S. approval of a booster dose of its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine. The drugmaker said Wednesday that it has started the application process for a third dose of its vaccine for everyone 16 and older.
Jamaican officials are calling on doctors and nurses — including those who have retired — to help as the country deals with increasing strain from COVID-19 patients.
“With the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalization, the health system in Jamaica needs your support as we work our way through this pandemic,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on Twitter.
In Europe, the international scientists dispatched to China by the World Health Organization to find out where the coronavirus came from say the search has stalled and warned that the window of opportunity for solving it is “closing fast.”
In a commentary published in the journal Nature, the WHO-recruited experts say the origins investigation is at “a critical juncture” requiring urgent collaboration but has instead come to a standstill. They noted among other things that Chinese officials are still reluctant to share some raw data, citing concerns about patient confidentiality.
In their analysis, published in March, the WHO team concluded that the virus likely jumped to humans from animals, and they described the possibility of a laboratory leak as “extremely unlikely.”
But the WHO experts say their report was intended only as a first step, noting that further delays “will render some of the studies biologically impossible.”
In the Middle East, COVID-19 vaccinations in Afghanistan have dropped by 80 per cent in the first week following the Taliban conquest of Kabul, the UN agency UNICEF said, warning that half of the few doses delivered to the country so far are close to expiry.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Vietnam is offering patients who have recovered from the coronavirus a monthly allowance if they agree to stay on at stretched hospitals to help health workers struggling to cope with an influx of infected people.
South Korea has reported 2,155 new coronavirus cases, nearly matching a record daily increase set earlier this month amid an alarming spread of infections. With Wednesday’s report, the country has tallied more than 1,000 new cases for 50 consecutive days, including a record 2,221 on Aug. 11.
Pakistan on Wednesday reported 141 deaths from COVID-19, one of its highest tallies since May. According to Pakistan’s National Command Operation Center, more than 4,000 new coronavirus infections were also reported in the past 24 hours.
In Africa, Nigeria has recently approved China’s Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19.
-From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 4:05 p.m. ET
