Japan extends virus emergency till March 7

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Tuesday that he is extending a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and nine other areas through March 7, amid growing uncertainty over the national roll-out of vaccines and the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Japan has had about 400,000 coronavirus cases, including 5,800 deaths. The state of emergency will remain in place in 10 prefectures including Osaka, Aichi and Fukuoka,

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a meeting of the government's COVID-19 task force. Tochigi, north of the capital, will be the only prefecture to have the emergency lifted on Feb. 7 because its situation has significantly improved.Under the state of emergency, people are urged to refrain from unnecessary outings while restaurants and bars are being asked to close early. Businesses are encouraged to adopt remote working and attendance at large events has been capped. Suga said the state of emergency will be lifted before March 7 in prefectures that see a significant improvement in several key indicators.