April 8, Thursday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

1. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government asked the central government on Thursday to allow it to take intensive anti-coronavirus measures in the capital without an emergency declaration. Coronavirus infections continue to grow in Tokyo, adding to fears about a rapid resurgence. Officials are also alarmed by an increase in the number of cases of a coronavirus variant that is said to be more transmissible. 2.Japanese researchers have found that the British coronavirus variant found in Japan is on average 1.32 times as transmissible as the original virus.
3.Japan’s health ministry says three of its employees have tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a farewell party last month at a restaurant in Tokyo. A total of 23 employees at the Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly joined the party on March 24.