(Reuters) - The Japanese government's advisory panel is set to approve expanding stricter anti-COVID-19 measures to 18 additional regions on Tuesday, putting over 70% of the country under restrictions.

       The Osaka and Kyoto prefectures in western Japan are among the areas to be covered by the measures, which were introduced in response to a surge of infections and hospitalization driven by the Omicron variant.

       Japan logged over 44,000 new cases Monday, according to a tally compiled by public broadcaster NHK.

       The restrictions will be enforced from Sunday through Feb. 20, and governors in those regions can request restaurants and bars to shorten business hours and stop serving alcohol.

       The advisory panel is also expected to greenlight extending so-called the quasi-emergency measures already applied in three regions through Feb. 20.

       The central government's taskforce led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to formally approve those decisions on Tuesday evening.

       (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama;Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)