月: 2020年12月

1. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed a record 822 new cases of the coronavirus in the Japanese capital on Thursday.  The figure surpasses the previous record of 678 new infections reported on Wednesday.

2. The U.S. Federal Reserve says it’s going to keep buying bonds at its current pace to make ample funds available to the financial system, in a bid to support the economy amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

3. Health authorities in the U.S. state of Alaska have reported that a health worker developed a severe allergic reaction shortly after getting a COVID-19 vaccine shot. The health officials said on Wednesday that the woman developed breathlessness and other symptoms of anaphylactic reaction about 10 minutes after receiving a shot of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

1. A key member of the U.S. Republican Party has recognized Democrat Joe Biden as the country’s next president, ending weeks of silence since the presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech in the chamber on Tuesday that he wants to “congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.” The remark came one day after the Electoral College vote officially confirmed Biden’s victory.
2. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has strongly urged voters in the state of Georgia to help Democrats win the upcoming Senate runoff elections. The races will determine which party controls the upper house of Congress.
3. European nations are taking different approaches to the coronavirus pandemic ahead of the Christmas holidays. Germany will tighten restrictions from Wednesday to January 10. Most retail shops will be closed and drinking in public places will be banned. Britain is raising coronavirus restrictions to the highest level in southeastern England, including London, from Wednesday. Pubs and restaurants will only be allowed to offer takeout and delivery services. On the other hand, France eased restrictions, allowing free movements between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. The government says the lockdown imposed in late October has helped curb the spread of the virus.

1. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has declared a “clear victory” in Monday’s Electoral College vote. Biden won support from 306 out of 538 electors, surpassing the 270 majority needed to formalize his win. President Trump secured the 232 remaining votes.
2. U.S. President Donald Trump says Attorney General William Barr is resigning as of next week. Trump tweeted on Monday, “Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas.”
3. More than 30 percent of respondents to an NHK opinion poll have said next year’s Olympics and Paralympics should be canceled.

 

 

1. The Japanese government is considering whether to remove Tokyo and Nagoya City from the domestic travel subsidy campaign. The areas are currently coronavirus hotspots.
2. A closely-watched survey by Japan’s central bank shows confidence is improving at big manufacturers in the country, but remains in negative territory.
3. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge around the world, doctors and nurses taking care of patients are coming under increasing pressure. In Japan, a team of students have been investigating the situation, and spreading the word through their high school newspaper.

1. Japan’s coronavirus advisory panel has discussed the government’s travel campaign and how people should spend the year-end and New Year holidays amid the spike of infections in the country.
2. The daily number of deaths from the coronavirus in the United States has reached a record high or more than 3,100.
3. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has announced that his pick for trade representative will be Katherine Tai, an Asian-American lawyer specializing in trade issues with China.

 

1. British authorities have issued an advisory after two people who got a dose of the new vaccine for the coronavirus showed sharp adverse reactions. Inoculation of the vaccine, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, began in Britain on Tuesday. The National Health Service says two NHS workers who were vaccinated along with elderly people developed symptoms of anaphylactoid reaction, which commonly involves a skin rash, breathlessness and a drop in blood pressure, shortly after getting a shot.
2. Canadian health authorities have approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer of the United States and Germany’s BioNTech. Health Canada said on Wednesday that it approved the vaccine after screening based on provisional standards for drugs and vaccines for the coronavirus.
3. NHK has learned that the number of elderly people found to be infected with the coronavirus has nearly doubled in Tokyo from the figure in August, when Japan was hit by the second wave of infection. During the summer, the virus was found mainly in young people. But recently it has also spread among older people.

1. Japan Self-Defense Force medical teams are in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido to help with large clusters of coronavirus infections. Ground Self-Defense Force personnel started working Wednesday at Keiyu-kai Yoshida Hospital and Hokkaido Ryoikuen, a facility for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
2. Tuesday marked the deadline under U.S. federal law for states to finalize the results of their balloting in last month’s presidential election. Many U.S. media outlets say President Donald Trump’s efforts to contest the election results will face greater difficulty after the so-called “safe harbor” deadline.
3. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden says he aims to administer 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots to the American people in the first 100 days of his administration. He said the top members of his team are “going to get ready on day one to spare not a single effort to get this pandemic under control, so we can get back to work, get back to our lives, get back to our loved ones.”

 

1. The U.N. Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, has called on governments to prioritize the reopening of schools. It claims the number of children facing school closures is soaring despite evidence that schools are not the main drivers of coronavirus infections.
2. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has announced key members of his health team to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which is his top priority. Biden has nominated California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Becerra is known for spearheading lawsuits in many states that sought the continuation of the health insurance program known as “Obamacare.”
3. A World Health Organization expert says it is logical to think that the coronavirus originated in China, since it resembles a virus detected in another part of the country years ago. Dr. Peter Ben Embarek told NHK that a virus closest to the new coronavirus was detected in a bat cave in China’s Yunnan province in 2013.

 

1. Figures by Johns Hopkins University show that the number of new coronavirus infection cases in the first five days of December is about 1.04 million in the U.S. The country has been averaging more than 2,000 deaths each day.
2. Japan’s space agency says it plans to transport a capsule released by its asteroid probe Hayabusa 2 from Australia to Japan by plane as early as Monday night. The capsule is believed to contain sand samples from the Ryugu asteroid.
3. British officials and health care workers are rushing to prepare for Tuesday’s launch of the country’s coronavirus vaccination program. The vaccine needs to be stored at around minus 70 degrees Celsius. Fifty hospitals in England with appropriate facilities have been earmarked as the first hubs for the vaccinations.

 

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has called on the international community to create a “united world” to overcome the coronavirus crisis. He said, “This crisis has reminded us of the need for global solidarity” and that “to overcome this crisis, we must realize a ‘united world,’ not a ‘divided world.’”
2. Three former U.S. presidents say they are willing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in a bid to address concerns about the safety of the newly developed vaccines. They are former presidents, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
3. A research group commissioned by Japan’s health ministry will conduct a large-scale survey on the loss of smell as a symptom of COVID-19. Loss of smell has been reported as one of the various symptoms of the coronavirus disease, but detailed research on it has yet to be conducted in Japan.