Japan approves 3rd extra budget to bolster anti-virus measures

Tokyo, Jan 29 : The Japanese parliament has approved a third extra budget for fiscal 2020 with the 19.18 trillion yen ($185 billion) allocation to fund further measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The supplementary budget passed on Thursday in Parliament’s upper chamber for enactment after passing the lower house a day earlier, so swift measures can be taken by the government to curb the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.
The surge in infections resulted in Prime Minster Yoshihide Suga, under fire from opposition parties and the public for the government’s slow response in tackling the resurgence, declaring a month-long state of emergency for 11 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, including Tokyo.
The government has earmarked 4.36 trillion yen from the latest extra budget for measures to curb the further spread of the virus, including financial provisions being made for restaurants and bars that have shortened their opening hours as requested by local prefectures.
This sum will also be used to secure more beds to treat Covid-19-positive patients as the number of patients self-quarantining continues to skyrocket nationwide, with overburdened facilities forced to turn away infected individuals.
Recent data from the Health Ministry showed that the number of people self-quarantining after contracting the virus climbed from 1,096 carriers on November 4, 2020, to 6,429 on December 9, 2020, before surging to 17,484 on January 6, and 35,394 patients on January 20.