Part 1. Vocabulary
|
ease (easing) |
/ēz/ v - make (something) happen more easily; facilitate The protocols in the pandemic are easing because of the vaccines. |
|
restriction |
/rəˈstrikSH(ə)n/
n - a limiting
condition or measure, especially a legal one The pandemic
brought many restrictions in daily activities. |
|
quasi- |
/ˈkwāˌzī,ˈkwäzē/
prefix - being
partly or almost The students
will do a quasi-experiment as their project in science. |
|
prefecture |
/ˈprēˌfek(t)SHər/
n - a district
under the government of a prefect There are
many prefectures of the country that are in quarantine. |
|
mitigation |
/ˌmidəˈɡāSH(ə)n/
n - act of
reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something Policies must
be made for the mitigation of pollution. |
Part 2. Comprehension Questions
What experiment will be conducted
in Japan?
What sporting events will be
involved in this experiment?
How many spectators will be
allowed once the measure against the virus is lifted?
What will be done to increase the
number of spectators in this experiment?
In general, what other situations
will they conduct the experiment?
Part 3. Article Reading
Japan will conduct an experiment using proof of COVID-19 vaccination at professional baseball and soccer stadiums in preparation for easing capacity restrictions, a cabinet minister said Monday.
The experiment
is expected to be conducted in October as Japan continues seeing a steady
decline in newly reported coronavirus cases, according to top officials of
Nippon Professional Baseball and soccer's J-League, who held a meeting with
Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of the country's coronavirus response.
"We'd like
to make further adjustments and conduct the experiment at an appropriate
time," Nishimura said when holding discussions with NPB Secretary General
Atsushi Ihara and J-League Chairman Mitsuru Murai.
Murai said the
start of the experiment could be as early as Oct. 1, while Ihara said NPB wants
to get started by the end of next month.
Currently, the
maximum number of spectators allowed for professional baseball and soccer games
is 5,000 in Tokyo and other areas subject to a COVID-19 state of emergency or a
quasi-state of emergency.
Once those
measures against the virus are lifted, the cap for major sporting events will
be raised to 10,000.
The government
plans to lift the latest emergency declaration covering Tokyo and 18 other prefectures at the end of September.
It is
considering further raising the spectator cap if the situation allows by
accepting proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative test certificate in the
upcoming experiment.
"No one
can predict how the infection situation will change, so I explained what kind
of mitigation can be taken in accordance with
the situation," Ihara said following the meeting with the minister.
In a related
development, the government plans to carry out a series of tests starting in
October at restaurants, live music venues and other places that typically
attract large crowds in preparation for the relaxation of restrictions.
Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/ Kyodo News, Posted
at Sep 27, 2021, 06:23 PM