Japanese PM urges two week sports moratorium to combat coronavirus

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday urged organisers of large sports and cultural events to either suspend, postpone or reduce attendance for the next two weeks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Shinzo Abe made the request a day after senior International Olympic Committee Dick Pound said that if the virus outbreak continues through the summer, organisers would be more likely to cancel than to postpone or move the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics.

But a Japanese gvernment spokesman said on Wednesday that the International Olympic Committee assured them Pound's comments do not reflect the official IOC position.

Abe also said the government will ban visitors who have been in the virus hit South Korean regions Daegu and Cheongdo-gun within the past 14 days.