Hello and welcome to today’s coronavirus coverage. Are Kate Lyons and I’ll let things go.
Today we start with some news from Asia, where different countries are looking at the fears of a fourth wave of the virus.
South Korea will reinstate the ban on nightclubs, karaoke bars and other nightlife facilities, authorities said on Friday after the number of new coronavirus cases rose.
“The signs of a fourth wave of epidemics that we have worked so hard to address are getting closer and stronger,” Chung said at a daily meeting on the pandemic.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced the curbs, which come into force on Monday for three weeks, after the daily number of new cases rose to a three-month high in recent days.
The Korean Agency for Disease Control and Prevention (KDCA) reported 671 new cases for Thursday, a day after the daily number peaked in early January, with clusters growing from churches, bars and halls. sports, mostly in the Seoul area.
meanwhile in Japan, Tokyo has asked the central government of Japan for permission to implement emergency measures to reduce the growth of a rapidly spreading and more contagious coronavirus variant, just over three months before the start of the Olympics.
The Tokyo Pass follows Osaka in western Japan, which has declared a medical emergency after its hospitals were overwhelmed by new cases.
Tokyo, which came out of a state of emergency only on March 21, reported 545 cases on Thursday. Koike said she was alarmed by the rapid spread of the new variants, especially one initially detected in the UK.
“It would be a matter of time before Tokyo faces a situation similar to Osaka,” Koike said.