Another update from the Prefectural JET advisors, Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland. (posted by Joe Tomei)

Here are your coronavirus updates:

State of Emergency to be called again in Tokyo Yesterday 920 new cases were reported in Tokyo, following a gradual increase in the numbers of new cases over the past two weeks. The national government has responded by beginning the process of calling a renewed State of Emergency, which was only downgraded to a Quasi-Emergency. Cases of the delta variant have been detected in multiple clusters in Tokyo.

The fourth state of emergency in Tokyo will come into effect July 12, last throughout the Olympics, and end August 22.

The existing State of Emergency in Okinawa will also be extended to August 22. Quasi-Emergencies in China, Saitama, Kanagawa and Osaka will also be extended until August 22. The Quasi-Emergencies in Hokkaido, Aichi, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka will end on schedule, on 11 July.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210708/k10013127821000.html https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/0aa5e028dc1a8dfa60989ebc1d90b00ecfa63207

Risk Level lowered to “Level 3” in Kumamoto Kumamoto’s independent risk level was lowered to “Level 3” earlier this week, but the guidance against travel to areas with a State of Emergency or Quasi-Emergency remain in place. https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html

Kumamoto City Vaccine Reservation Procedures Kumamoto City has released a guide with detailed information on the vaccine as well s the procedures for booking it. It also includes an annotated translation of the mandatory medical history form, which is the same across the country. For those of you who live outside Kumamoto City and didn’t receive this booklet in the mail, [it can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GKFOh-4iseTC-EXNSAhhoo85nS2arrrq/view?usp=sharing]. The procedures will differ based on your municipality of residence but some of the information may be useful.

By the way, the fifth stage (第５期予約) of Kumamoto City’s online vaccine reservations will be open for anyone over 12 years of age, with reservations possible by phone or online on Saturday, 10 July at 8:30 am. For information on how to access the website, see the attached document.

For those of you getting vaccinated, we hope your experiences are going well so far.

All the best and have a great Thursday evening,

Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland