Rebound in infections forces tightening restrictions in Japan and South Korea

The coronavirus contagion curve continues to rise in several Asian countries and has prompted authorities in Japan and South Korea to tighten or extend restrictive and distancing measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

The Japanese government has authorized the governors of the prefectures of Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa to tighten restrictions until next month as part of tackling a new spike in cases, as a last resort before declaring a state of emergency. if these new measures fail.

The permit transfers to governors the choice of which areas of the prefectures will be affected by measures that will come into force next Monday and will be lifted on May 5 in Kyoto and Okinawa, and on May 11 in Tokyo, the channel reports. Japanese state NHK.

Currently in South Korea, gatherings of five or more people are prohibited nationwide.“

This new package of measures also aims to ensure a more stable situation in view of the opening of the 2021 Olympic Games on July 23.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye Kyun, meanwhile, announced that the social distancing measures currently in force in the country would be extended for another three weeks, amid a surge in daily cases recorded in recent days.

Currently in South Korea, gatherings of five or more people are prohibited nationwide.

Sye Kyun also explained that other additional measures will be added to the measures already in force as of Monday and that, in the region of Salt and Busan, the hardest hit by the health crisis, bars and nightclubs will be closed, and the curfew applies to other establishments, such as cafes or gymnasiums, will be advanced from 22 to 21.

In addition, he warned that new measures will also be announced next week, as the government will step up the principle of “no tolerance” towards those who violate the restrictions, the Yonhap news agency reported. .

ChinaAt the same time, it reported 33 new cases of coronavirus detected on the last day, eight of them corresponding to the epidemic recorded in Yunnan province and 25 from abroad.

At the same time, the government of Irn reported more than 22,000 cases of coronavirus for the second day in a row and said the death toll has passed the 64,000 mark since the start of the pandemic.

Iranian Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari pointed out that in the past 24 hours, 22,478 cases and 155 deaths have been detected, bringing the total to 2,029,412 and 64,039, respectively, according to Iranian news agency Mehr.

CambodiaFor its part, it has reported more than 575 cases in the past day, its highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic, while the rebound in infections has led authorities to impose new restrictions.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has approved a decree banning travel between provinces and ordering tourist resorts to close for 14 days in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Parallel, Hong Kong confirmed that it has asked drugmaker AstraZeneca to suspend administration of its vaccine amid fears of serious side effects and concerns about its effectiveness against the newer variants.

Hong Kong, 7.5 million inhabitants, has already secured a good supply of vaccines after signing agreements of 7.5 million doses each with the German-American BioNTech / Pfizer and the Chinese Sinovac.