19/06/2020
Latest update advisory
Here are the latest developments (Tokyo time):
Friday, June 19
2:50 p.m. China releases genome sequencing data for the coronavirus responsible for a recent outbreak in Beijing. Officials say it is a European strain, based on preliminary studies. The country has submitted the data to the World Health Organization.
2:05 p.m. Thailand reports five new coronavirus cases, all of which were found in quarantine, making it 25 days without a confirmed domestic transmission of the virus.
1:58 p.m. India reports yet another biggest single-day increase in cases with 13,586 new infections, bringing the country's tally to 380,532. The total includes 12,573 deaths, up 336 from Thursday morning.
12:40 p.m. American Airlines removed a passenger from a plane for refusing to wear a face covering. Airlines have promised to step up enforcement of mask rules. A spokesman for American said the airline decided to bar the man from future flights after reviewing the incident, which occurred Wednesday in New York.
11:30 a.m. Japan lifts all coronavirus-related curbs on domestic travel on Friday, ending its last restrictions on cross-prefecture travel. The government will also allow up to 1,000 people to gather at indoor and outdoor events. Japanese professional baseball will restart on Friday, but without spectators.
10:40 a.m. South Korea confirms 49 new cases, down from 59 a day ago. Total infections reach 12,306, with 280 deaths.
10:30 a.m. The much anticipated Friday release of Uniqlo's AIRism face masks meets with massive demand online and off, as wannabe customers overwhelmed servers and stood in long lines as rain poured down outside of stores.
9:50 a.m. China reports 32 new coronavirus cases as of the end of Thursday, 25 of which were reported in Beijing. This compares with 28 confirmed cases a day earlier, 21 of them in Beijing. Local authorities are restricting the movement of people in the capital and stepping up other measures to prevent the virus from spreading further.
9:30 a.m. Japan's core consumer prices record a second straight monthly fall in May, down 0.2% from a year earlier, as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic lowered the cost of energy and accommodation, government data shows.
9:20 a.m. Mexico's health ministry reports a record 5,662 new confirmed cases and 667 additional fatalities for Thursday, bringing its totals to 165,455 cases and 19,747 deaths.
6:00 a.m. The latest reading of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's regional manufacturing index shows a sharp improvement, adding to signs of rebounding business and consumer confidence in the U.S. The June reading published Thursday, U.S. time, coincides with the 100th day since the WHO declared the coronavirus pandemic.
5:23 a.m. Trade exhibitions move to the internet amid the pandemic, forgoing face-to-face interactions with visitors while creating opportunities to connect with those who would otherwise not attend.
5:22 a.m. Japan's most-traveled bullet train line connecting Tokyo and Osaka will restore service to nearly year-earlier levels in July and August.
5:21 a.m. Itochu and Keyence quickly bring workers back to the office after the nationwide state of emergency was lifted, as companies across Japan consider whether teleworking is a viable option for them over the long term.
3:30 a.m. The U.K. will adopt the Apple and Google model for its COVID-19 tracing app, giving up on a software development effort led by the National Health Service.
3:20 a.m. The number of COVID-19 cases in Canada has hit 100,000, health officials say.
2:10 a.m. Nippon Sheet Glass converts a kit used to prevent food poisoning outbreaks into a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus capable of returning results in as little as 10 minutes.
12:10 a.m. Japan will ease some restrictions on business travel as early as July, starting with Vietnam and Thailand, which will be allowed to send up to 250 travelers a day. Restrictions will be relaxed later for major destinations such as the U.S. and China.
Thursday, June 18
11:40 a.m. Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo says league play is returning too soon to the coronavirus-ravaged South American country, Reuters reports.
9:30 p.m. The latest U.S. jobs report shows initial claims for unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 1.51 million for the week ended June 13, falling slightly from the week before.
9:16 p.m. The founder of Oyo Hotels and Homes, one of India's fastest-growing startups, says he is confident that the budget hotel chain can weather the COVID-19 crisis, citing a $1 billion war chest that will last "three years plus."
7:47 p.m. The World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan says the global body hopes hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine can be produced this year, with two billion doses by the end of 2021.
She said the WHO is drawing up plans to decide who should get early doses once a vaccine is approved, with priority given to front-line workers such as medics, or vulnerable people such as the elderly, or those who live or work in high transmission settings such as care homes.
6:20 p.m. Taiwan's central bank says it has lowered its GDP forecast for 2020 to 1.52%, down from the 1.92% it predicted in March, citing a slowing global economy. The pandemic has dragged down exports and dampened domestic demand, the central bank said. It left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.125%.
6:00 p.m. Indonesia says new coronavirus cases reached a fresh daily high on Friday of 1,331, bringing total infections to 42,762. The country also reports 63 new deaths, bringing total fatalities to 2,339. East Java Province remains the biggest source of new cases, followed by Jakarta and South Sulawesi.
4:29 p.m. Indonesia's central bank cuts its benchmark interest rate to its lowest in two years, as it steps up efforts to support an economy decimated by the coronavirus pandemic. Bank Indonesia lowered its seven-day reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, its third rate cut this year.
3:10 p.m. Vietnam approves its biggest commercial project this year as the government seeks to maintain what has been a record pace of public and private investment since January to help the economy emerge from the pandemic.
3:00 p.m. Tokyo confirms 41 new coronavirus infections, sources tell Nikkei, up from 16 a day earlier.
1:45 p.m. Ratings agency Fitch cuts its outlook for India to "negative" from "stable," saying, "The coronavirus pandemic has significantly weakened India's growth outlook for this year and exposed the challenges associated with a high public-debt burden."
1:40 p.m. Thailand reports six new infections and no new deaths, bringing its totals to 3,141 confirmed cases and 58 fatalities. The new cases were quarantined Thais returning from Saudi Arabia and India. The country has gone 24 days with no local transmissions.
1:24 p.m. India reports its biggest single-day increase in cases, 12,881, bringing the country's tally to 366,946. The total includes 12,237 deaths, up 334 from Wednesday morning.
