Japan will introduce limits on the opening hours of bars and restaurants in three areas in a bid to stop a surge in coronavirus cases that has been linked to US military bases. US military authorities announced stricter Covid-19 measures on Thursday, including the mandatory use of off-base masks and more stringent testing regimes. New cases have risen in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture, since the beginning of the year, from 51 last Saturday to a record 1,414 on Friday. Those figures do not include new infections found among US military personnel and their families. New infections topped 4,000 in Japan on Thursday, compared with an average of around 200 a day last month.

Source: The Guardian January 07, 2022 16:56 UTC