U.S. issues travel warning for visiting Tokyo for Olympics

Washington, May 25 (RHC)-- The U.S. Department of State has issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ order for Japan amid a high rate of COVID-19 infection in the country, just two months before the capital Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 4 warning for Japan on Monday due to “a very high level of COVID-19 in the country,” and noting the current restrictions on American visitors entering the country.

The guidance is another sign of the gravity of the COVID outbreak in Japan, which is due to host the Olympic Games in Tokyo from July 23rd after they were postponed from last year because of the pandemic.

Amid the increased prevalence of COVID-19 of late, calls for the Games to be canceled have grown, including among local campaigners and up to 70% of the Japanese public, according to recent polls.

A state of emergency has been declared in the prefectures of Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Fukuoka, Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima, while a number of other regions are subject to less severe health measures.

Japan has posted more than 720,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 12,000 deaths in total, although its seven-day infection rate has slowed over the last week.

On Monday, the US Department of State also issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for Sri Lanka amid an increase in COVID-19 infections there.