(Reuters) – The Japanese authorities’s advisory panel is ready to approve increasing stricter anti-COVID-19 measures to 18 extra areas on Tuesday, placing over 70% of the nation underneath restrictions.
The Osaka and Kyoto prefectures in western Japan are among the many areas to be lined by the measures, which have been launched in response to a surge of infections and hospitalization pushed by the Omicron variant.
Japan logged over 44,000 new instances Monday, in keeping with a tally compiled by public broadcaster NHK.
The restrictions might be enforced from Sunday via Feb. 20, and governors in these areas can request eating places and bars to shorten enterprise hours and cease serving alcohol.
The advisory panel can also be anticipated to greenlight extending so-called the quasi-emergency measures already utilized in three areas via Feb. 20.
The central authorities’s taskforce led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is ready to formally approve these choices on Tuesday night.
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama;Enhancing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Supply: KFGO
