Japan reports 633 new coronavirus cases, nationwide toll soars to 26,767

Health Ministry of Japan has confirmed that the country has recorded 633 fresh coronavirus cases on July 21 with Aichi prefecture in central Japan witnessing a huge surge in its daily infection rate with 53 new cases. Tokyo's Governor Yuriko Koike reportedly said today that the capital city recorded 230 fresh cases of COVID-19. Koike added that the government will respond appropriately to make sure that there are fewer cases and less people are affected by the virus. 

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‘Go to’ campaign criticized

The people of Japan have also criticized the new ‘Go to’ campaign by the Japanese government. The campaign aims at provisioning benefits to the tourism industry. Under the campaign, the government will give 50% subsidies to the travelers. People fear that this campaign will spread the virus to the rural areas of the country and tamper with the weak healthcare systems. According to reports, the Japanese Asahi newspaper conducted a telephonic survey which said 74% of the participants were not in favor of the campaign.

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Koike and many other local governments have expressed their concern on the same. They said that they are worried that the central government's plan to begin its ‘Go-To’ travel subsidy campaign this month to boost domestic tourism could increase the number of cases. This would also impact regional medical systems. Kazuyoshi Akaba, tourism minister, said that the government will go ahead with the plan now by excluding Tokyo because of the resurgence in the number of cases. The campaign will begin on July 22. The total number of confirmed cases in Japan is now 27, 026.

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