Tokyo under COVID-19 emergency ahead of Olympics
Less than two weeks ahead of the Olympic Games, Tokyo is back under a COVID cloud.
Authorities on Monday (July 12) put Japan's capital city under a state of emergency following a surge in cases with more than 600 logged on Sunday (July 11).
Restaurants have been asked to close early and stop serving alcohol.
It's the fourth time the government has locked things down since the start of the crisis.
For one restaurant manager, it is starting to feel a little arbitrary.
"Frankly, we have not had a single day this past year where we operated under regular working hours. And that's just the reality."
Some Tokyo residents agreed, saying that unless the measures cover more than just restaurants they would be of little use.
"It's completely stupid. The prime minister just says what those at the top tell him to say. He is not thinking about the people who are trying to doing business."
Meanwhile, security ran a sweep of the media center on Monday, ahead of a formal opening to thousands of journalists.
But the venues themselves are likely to remain nearly empty.
Organizers announced last week they would ban most spectators, asking residents to watch the competitions on TV.
The state of emergency will run all the way through the Olympics until August 22, shortly before the beginning of the Paralympics.
