COVID-19: Japan to open to tourists from June 10

People wearing face masks due to COVID-19 travel on a Setagaya Line tram decorated with "maneki-neko" or beckoning cat statue images in Tokyo on Jan 30, 2022. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

SEOUL / SINGAPORE / HANOI / WELLINGTON / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / PHNOM PENH /TOKYO – Foreign tourists visiting Japan will be required to wear masks, take out private medical insurance and be chaperoned throughout their stay, the government said on Tuesday, as it plans a gradual opening from two years of COVID-19 restrictions.

Only visitors on package tours will be allowed in during the first phase of reopening, from June 10, the Japan Tourism Agency said

Only visitors on package tours will be allowed in during the first phase of reopening, from June 10, the Japan Tourism Agency said, adding that travel agency guides accompanying visitors will have to ensure they wear their masks.

"Tour guides should frequently remind tour participants of necessary infection prevention measures, including wearing and removing masks, at each stage of the tour," the JTA said in its guidelines.

"Even outdoors, the wearing of masks should continue in situations where people are conversing in close proximity."

Japan has imposed some of the strictest border controls in the world over the course of the pandemic, banning the entry of almost all non-residents.

As most of the rest of the world opens up from COVID-19 lockdowns, Japan is also relaxing its rules. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to bring border measures into line with other wealthy nations. 

The government has recently begun relaxing mask guidance for the general public although the coverings are ubiquitous. Wearing masks to prevent the spread of germs and fend off pollen was common in Japan before the coronavirus pandemic.

In this photo, seating for restaurants is mostly empty along Sydney Harbour, which is usually packed with locals and tourists on Christmas Eve but now quiet due to COVID-19, in Sydney, Australia, on Dec 24, 2020. (SAEED KHAN / AFP)

Australia

Researchers from the University of Sydney have surveyed over 1,000 Australians on their experiences with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now seek to use the results to inform future policy.

Study lead author, Sydney University mental health researcher Marlee Bower, said the pandemic "pressurized" existing triggers for mental health, and led many Australians to seek mental health support for the first time ever

The study, published in the PLOS ONE journal on Tuesday, surveyed 1,037 Australians aged 18 to 89 between December 2020 and June 2021, measuring their own mental health experience and engagement with mental health resources.

Study lead author, Sydney University mental health researcher Marlee Bower, said the pandemic "pressurized" existing triggers for mental health, and led many Australians to seek mental health support for the first time ever.

One in five respondents said that an increase in financial hardship and changes in their social support system during the pandemic had an adverse effect on their mental health. More than one in five said the pandemic has increased pressures on an already overburdened mental health system.

"The public has shared how flaws in institutional policies designed to support Australians experiencing hardship and ill-health, were a contradiction — instead having a negative effect on their mental health and ability to recover," said Bower.

ALSO READ: S. Korea reports 5,022 new COVID-19 cases

Despite this surge in need, and governmental initiatives to lower the cost of mental health treatment during the pandemic, accessibility remained a barrier for many, according to the responses.

"Many respondents said accessing the current mental health support system was expensive and difficult to navigate and, compounded by the community and political stigma about what it means to be unemployed, receive welfare or mental health support."

The researchers hoped that the project would prompt policy makers to integrate "the lived experiences of everyday Australians" into addressing the challenges faced by Australia's mental health resources.

Cambodia

Cambodia has become a state of COVID-19-zero after the last patient recovered, according to a health ministry's statement on Tuesday.

The country reported no new cases of COVID-19 for 31 days straight, the statement said, adding that since the pandemic began in January 2020, the southeast Asian nation has logged a total of 136,262 confirmed cases with 133,206 recoveries and 3,056 deaths.

Health ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine attributed the country's success in controlling the pandemic to the government's right leadership and the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

This picture taken on May 17, 2022 and released from the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency on May 18 shows a doctor promoting pandemic control measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Pyongyang. (STR / KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)

DPRK

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea reported 61,730 more people with fever symptoms, the DPRK's state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

India

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 43,185,049 on Tuesday with 3,714 new cases registered during the past 24 hours across the South Asian country, showed the health ministry's latest data.

Besides, seven deaths from the pandemic registered across the country since Monday morning took the death toll to 524,708.

Signs direct drivers waiting for a COVID-19 testing at a pop-up testing centre at Marsden Point, New Zealand on Jan 25, 2021. (PHOTO / AP)

New Zealand

New Zealand recorded 10,191 new community cases of COVID-19 and 14 more deaths from the pandemic in the past two days, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

Among the new community infections, 2,997 were reported in the largest city Auckland, the ministry said.

In addition, 111 new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the New Zealand border in the past two days.

Currently, 371 COVID-19 patients are being treated in New Zealand hospitals, including nine in intensive care units or high dependency units.

New Zealand has reported 1,200,706 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020.

ROK

The Republic of Korea reported 6,172 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 18,174,880, the health authorities said Tuesday.

The daily caseload was slightly up from 5,022 in the previous day, but it was lower than 17,185 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

A woman walks past signs stating the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for entry into a mall at Raffles Place in Singapore on March 24, 2022.
(ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore reported 2,162 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total tally to 1,321,146.

Of the new cases, 215 cases were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 1,947 through antigen rapid test (ART) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 200 were local transmissions and 15 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, 1,841 were local transmissions and 106 were imported cases.

A total of 259 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with nine cases in intensive care units.

No death was reported from COVID-19 on Monday, keeping the total death toll at 1,393, according to the ministry. 

A health worker takes swab samples of a security officer for COVID-19 testing at the venue of Vietnam's Communist Party congress in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jan 29, 2021. (HAU DINH / AP)

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 802 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up by 117 from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health.

Among the new infections, four were imported cases and the rest were domestically transmitted cases reported in 45 provinces and cities.

The Vietnamese capital Hanoi was the pandemic hotspot with 204 new cases recorded on Monday, followed by the northern Bac Ninh province with 76 and the northern Yen Bai province with 64.

The newly recorded infections brought the total tally to 10,726,045 with 43,081 deaths. Nationwide, as many as 9,513,981 COVID-19 patients, or nearly 89 percent of the total infections, have so far recovered.