To more COVID news.
Japan is slated to expand its coronavirus state of emergency for a second straight week, as the Delta variant continues to strain the country's healthcare system.
{RVO}
The government last week extended the state of emergency until September 12.
13 prefectures, including Tokyo, are listed under quasi-emergency status.
The decision came at a meeting of experts today. And the proposal is expected to be approved and formally announced later today.
The country's state of emergency requires eateries to close at 8 p.m. and not serve alcohol, but the measures are increasingly defied. And social distancing measures and other anti-virus restrictions are also largely ignored due to growing complacency.
The Japanese capital has been under a state of emergency since July 12, but new daily COVID infections have increased more than tenfold since then.
Japan has weathered the pandemic way better than many other countries, but its vaccination efforts lag behind other wealthy nations. Only about 40 percent of the country's population has been fully vaccinated, with the majority of the vaccinated elderly people.
The Japanese government has come under fire for holding this summer's Tokyo Olympics and the now-underway Paralympics amid the pandemic, as people believe the games have stymied efforts to curb the outbreak. But defiant officials have denied any direct link between the games and the recent spike in COVID infections.
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