TOKYO (AP) – Tokyo takes tougher measures against coronavirus on Monday as Japanese authorities fight to curb the spread of a more contagious variant before the Olympics in a country where less than 1% of people have been vaccinated .
Japan began its vaccination action with medical workers and expanded this Monday to senior residents with the first shots at about 120 selected locations across the country.
The harshest rules of COVID-19, just three weeks after ending a non-binding state of emergency in the capital, allow the Tokyo governor to demand shorter opening hours for bars and restaurants, punish offenders and compensate those who comply. The measures will run until May 11.
The status was also raised in Kyoto in western Japan and the prefecture of the southern island of Okinawa and will last until May 5, the end of the “Golden Week” holiday in Japan, to deter travel.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has asked residents to avoid non-essential travel and practice social distancing. He called on bars and restaurants in many areas to close at 8pm and urged residents to be careful while vaccinations are in an early stage.
“We remain unarmed as we fight the resurgence of infections,” Koike said. “Follow the guidelines.”
Health officials will also patrol bars and restaurants to ensure safety measures are observed and testing at care facilities for the elderly will be increased.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visited a vaccination center on the western outskirts of Tokyo and pledged to do everything possible for a smooth and rapid operation.
Japan has handled the pandemic better than the United States and many European countries, with less than half a million cases and 9,400 deaths since the pandemic began. But it has experienced an increase in recent weeks and on Sunday reported 2,762 cases nationwide.
However, vaccinations have lagged behind many other nations due to the limited supply of the Pfizer vaccine, the only one approved in Japan. So far, Japan is completely dependent on firing imports. Just over a million people in Japan have received the first dose of vaccine.
Inoculations began in mid-February for medical workers and the campaign will focus on the elderly during the summer. The rest of the population is likely to have to wait until July or later, making it nearly impossible for Japan to achieve so-called herd immunity before the Tokyo Olympics begin on July 23rd.
The approval of the features of AstraZeneca and Moderna is pending. Japan has confirmed the request for 344 million doses of vaccine this year, enough for its entire population.
Obtaining sufficient imported vaccines is a major concern due to the shortage of supply and export controls in Europe, where these vaccines come from. Cases of blood clots related to the AstraZeneca vaccine also cause uncertainty.
Japanese vaccination minister Taro Kono has said supplies are expected to recover in May and that Japan will have enough with the Pfizer vaccine to cover the nation’s 36 million seniors by the end of June.
A week ago, tougher antivirus measures were launched for parts of the western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo and Miyagi in the north. Fifteen cities in the six prefectures, including central Tokyo, are now under high virus levels.
Tokyo’s return to the state of alert on Monday highlights the difficulty of balancing antivirus measures and the economy. The Suga government has been criticized for being too slow to take anti-virus measures out of reluctance to further damage the pandemic-affected economy.