News

Tokyo Logs Record 5,042 Cases As Infections Surge Amid Games

Published

4 years ago

August 5, 2021

Editor

Tokyo reported 5,042 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, its most since the pandemic began as infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics.

Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since mid-July, and four other areas of the country have since been added.

But the measures, basically shorter opening hours and a ban on alcohol for restaurants and bars, are increasingly ignored by the public, which has become tired of restrictions.

“We need to tackle the situation now that we have a stronger sense of urgency,” Prime Minister Yosihide Suga told reporters, referring to Tokyo exceeding 5,000 new daily cases for the first time. “The infections are expanding at a pace we have never experienced before.”

Suga, who has been criticized for insisting on hosting the Olympics despite the coronavirus’s surge, says there is no evidence linking the increase in cases to the July 23-Aug. 8 Games.

He urged people to firmly stick to the emergency requests and stay at home during summer vacation.

The new cases brought Tokyo’s reported total to 236,138. The entire country registered more than 14,000 new cases on Wednesday, for a 970,460 total.

Alarmed by the pace of the spread, some experts have called for the state of emergency to be expanded nationwide.

Instead, Suga on Thursday announced a milder version of the emergency measures in eight prefectures, including Fukushima in the east and Kumamoto in the south, beginning Monday. The less-stringent measures allow prefectural heads to target specific towns but do not allow them to order business closures.

Suga also pledged to “prevent the further spread of the virus by firmly carrying out vaccinations.”

Experts say people are not cooperating because many feel less of a sense of urgency about the pandemic while the Olympics are going ahead and the government’s repeats of the same requests for people to stay at home.

Experts on a Tokyo metropolitan government panel cautioned that infections propelled by the more contagious delta variant have become “explosive” and could exceed 10,000 cases a day in two weeks.

Measures targeting business owners begin with requests and increase to orders, and violators can be fined, though this rarely happens. Those who comply can receive compensation, but thousands of eateries still stay open after the requested 8 p.m. closing time. Measures for the general public are only voluntary requests, including staying at home, wearing a mask outside and avoiding nonessential trips.

Japan has managed to keep its cases and deaths lower than much of the world, but testing is still insufficient and Tokyo’s positivity rate stands at 20%, indicating widespread infections. Japan has 8.9 new confirmed cases per 100,000, compared to 8.5 in Vietnam and 28.4 in the United States.

In Tokyo, nearly 17,000 patients with mild symptoms are currently isolating at home — more than a tenfold increase from a month ago — and more than 10,000 others are waiting for beds in hospitals or special hotels.

As hospital beds fill, Suga’s government introduced a new policy this week in which coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home instead of in hospitals, an attempt to save hospital beds almost exclusively for seriously ill patients.

Opposition lawmakers criticized Suga for not increasing hospital capacity sufficiently despite warnings about the delta variant. Coronavirus treatment in Japan is limited to public and university hospitals that have adequate facilities and expertise.

Dr. Masataka Inokuchi, the vice chair of the Tokyo Medical Association, said he hopes to establish a system that allows patients to isolate safely at home. “This system, however, will collapse if the number of patients at home keeps rising,” he said.

(AP)

News

DSS Issues Warning, Arrests Man For Circulating Fake Recruitment Materials

Published

3 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

The Department of State Services (DSS) has disclosed the arrest of one Mr. Eze Ezenwa Benard, who was recently apprehended for circulating fake DSS recruitment past questions and answers on Facebook.

The agency, while warning the public in a statement on Saturday, said the suspect operated through a page known as “Jobs and Education”, where he advertised the fraudulent materials and charged unsuspecting members of the public one thousand naira (N1,000) for access.

“The public is hereby cautioned to disregard any materials, as the DSS does not sell or distribute recruitment questions, answers, or examination guides through private individuals or social media pages. Recruitment into the Service, when necessary, follows specialised procedure in accordance with extant laws and due process,” the statement reads.

News

‘Na Only People You Gave Work Love You,’ Singer Speed Darlington Tells Tinubu

Published

3 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Singer Speed Darlington has told President Bola Tinubu that public admiration cannot be bought, warning that only those who received appointments or jobs from the government truly support him.

In a video posted on Saturday, August 23, the singer said, “Everything isn’t about the economy! There is more to leadership than the economy. See as everybody dey call your name, dey complain. Nobody loves you. Na only the ones you gave work, na them love you. Even your own tribe dey complain about you.”

Darlington, an Igbo man, urged Tinubu to focus on police reform and respect for human rights. “The Nigerian police is an oppressive agency rooted in human rights violation. As a matter of fact, if they do not violate you, it’s as if they are not even doing their job.

“The idea of arrest before investigation is a pure human rights violation. You arrest and hold a person before you dey investigate. Please, before you leave office, please speak to your Yoruba brother IGP man,” he added.

News

Before You Leave Office, Reform The Police — Speed Darlington Urges Tinubu

Published

3 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Popular controversial singer Speed Darlington has called on President Bola Tinubu to reform the Nigerian Police Force, urging the government to prioritise citizens’ rights alongside economic growth.

In a video posted on Saturday, the entertainer criticised what he described as the police’s systemic human rights violations and oppressive practices.

“Mr President, before you leave office, whether you secure a second term or not, try your best to improve Nigeria. Everything isn’t about the economy!

“There is more to leadership than the economy. See as everybody dey call your name, dey complain. Nobody loves you. Na only the ones you gave work, na them love you. Even your own tribe dey complain about you,” he said.

The singer, who identifies as Igbo, urged Tinubu to engage with the Inspector-General of Police and implement reforms.

“As an Igbo man, the advice I can give you so people will know your name and remember you for something good is to reform the police. Reform the police.

“The Nigerian police is an oppressive agency rooted in human rights violation. As a matter of fact, if they do not violate you, it’s as if they are not even doing their job.

“The idea of arrest before investigation is a pure human rights violation. You arrest and hold a person before you dey investigate,” he added.

Darlington also recounted his personal ordeal with law enforcement, highlighting the system’s abuse of power.

“I was held for two months after the judge had ordered my release. FID held me for two months. According to my lawyer, the Nigerian law gives only 28 days for investigation.

“They held me for two months. What is the extra month for? Because they can. If you give them money, they oppress your enemy. I have experienced it,” he said.