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Japan: Worse before better
Another coronavirus strain has been found in Japan and the number of corona cases is increasing again rapidly, although fortunately the number of deaths remains comparatively low (figure 1). As a consequence, the government has declared a ‘state of emergency’ for Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures as of 8 January and the expectation is that the state of emergency will be expanded to more prefectures (including Osaka and Kyoto) in the coming days. Essentially that means these regions will be in a ‘soft lockdown’, with restrictions on sporting and cultural events, the (voluntary) closure of restaurants ... (full story)