Japan's Suga urges citizens to have a quiet and distanced New Year

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide delivers a speech during a news conference about the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan, December 25, 2020. Nicolas Datiche/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga urged the nation on Friday to spend a quiet New Year period without the usual social gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has been breaking infection records almost on a daily basis.

Suga also announced a package of $2.6 billion for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients which have come under strain due to the rapid rise in cases across the northern island of Hokkaido as well as large cities like Tokyo and Osaka.