Japan widens COVID-19 curbs as Omicron drives record infections

FILE PHOTO: Passersby wearing protective face masks walk on the street, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan January 15, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Wednesday widened COVID-19 curbs to the capital Tokyo and a dozen regions covering half the population as the Omicron variant of coronavirus drove record new infections.

Already in effect in three regions, the measures, set to run from Friday until Feb. 13, were made official by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after getting the sign-off from an expert panel earlier in the day.