Coronavirus outbreak: Japan to quarantine passengers from China, South Korea

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on March 5 reportedly said that the nation will quarantine all passengers from China and South Korea in a bid to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. According to an international media outlet, the measure will take effect on March 9 and last through March 31. While speaking to a Japanese media outlet, Abe said that the visas that have already been issued to people from the two countries will be further suspended. 

Shinzo Abe said, “We will strengthen immigration quarantines on people from the two countries. We will ask them to stay in designated areas for two weeks and not to use public transport”.

As per reports, the Japanese government is also considering an entry ban on visitors from parts of South Korea and Iran. China, the epicentre of coronavirus, has by far the largest number of infections and South Korea and Iran, on the other hand, has also seen a surge in recent days. The number of confirmed cases in Japan has reportedly reached 331 with six deaths. 

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Death toll worldwide surpasses 3,000

Governments worldwide have stepped up efforts to halt the spread of the virus. Several countries including the Philippines and Hong Kong have also scrambled to seal their borders with South Korea as a containment measure to restrict South Korean travellers. The Philippines imposed restrictions on travellers from South Korea and barred Filipinos from touring to the East Asian nations amid the outbreak, confirmed media reports. 

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 70 countries since December 2019. As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit nearly 80,000 and more than 96,000 worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 3,000 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 160 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to 3,304.  

(With PTI inputs)

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