Japan Widens Virus Emergency Amid Olympics

TOKYO (AP) – Japan is set to expand the coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo to neighboring areas and the western city of Osaka as infections surge to new highs while the capital hosts the Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is scheduled to announce later Friday the emergency will be expanded until Aug. 31. The measures now in place in Tokyo and Okinawa would include Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, as well as Osaka. Tokyo has reported three daily records in a row. COVID-19 cases have doubled since last week. The emergency measures mainly involve shorter hours and an alcohol ban at eateries and bars, but they are having less impact amid fatigue over restrictions and the increasing spread of the delta variant.