Filipinos living in Japan are safe amid the declaration of a state of emergency in the country’s major prefectures and cities, according to Philippine Ambassador to Tokyo Jose Laurel V.
One out of the 56 recent cases recorded in Tokyo died of COVID-19 infection.
The Philippine Embassy has not much data of new COVID-19 cases involving Filipino nationals except for those that were previously reported, Laurel said.
In Osaka, however, a total 82 Filipinos tested positive for COVID-19 and they recovering well except for two individuals who are still undergoing treatment.
Attributing the slow pace of vaccination in Japan to the “meticulous” attitude of the Japanese, he said restrictive measures have been put in place concerning travel to and from Japan, including contact with Filipino athletes who are participating in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
These measures were necessitated by the exponential increase of new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido, Aichi, Kyoto, Hyôgo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Okinawa, Laurel said.
He added that only members of the diplomatic community and those in essential services are allowed to travel to Japan at this time.
