As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26 (Japan time)
- South Korea said Wednesday that its total coronavirus infection cases have exceeded 1,200 as the situation rapidly worsens in the country, with the first case confirmed among U.S. military personnel.
- China has seized over 31 million fake or inferior face masks, the country's public security authorities reported Wednesday, shedding light on the desperation brought on by the country's mask shortage.
- Japan on Wednesday dismissed a comment by an International Olympic Committee member suggesting a decision would be made by late May on whether the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will go ahead amid the new coronavirus outbreak, saying it is "not official."
- Fourteen percent of patients infected with the new coronavirus and discharged from the hospital in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong after recovering have tested positive again, according to local health authorities.
- The government will ask organizers of big sports and cultural events to consider canceling or postponing them for the next two weeks, a critical time for Japan to stem a rise in coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday.
- The Japan Rugby Football Union said Wednesday it will postpone a total of 16 games across two rounds of the 2020 Top League season due to the growing alarm over the spiraling coronavirus crisis. Nippon Professional Baseball announced it will hold all 72 of its remaining preseason games behind closed doors. Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizers said a Paralympic Boccia test event will be held without athletes due to concerns over the current coronavirus outbreak.
- The number of deaths in mainland China from coronavirus infections has risen by 52 to 2,715, with confirmed cases of infection reaching 78,064, the country's health authorities said Wednesday.
- The Japan Sports Agency has asked the Japan Sumo Association to make changes to its March grand tournament amid the current coronavirus outbreak, a source with knowledge of the matter says.
- In an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the education board of Hokkaido will urge local authorities on Wednesday to temporarily close all 1,600 public elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture.
- Japan plans to ban entry by foreign nationals who have visited the South Korean city of Daegu and neighboring county of Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang Province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, government sources said Wednesday.
- Concerns over the spread of new coronavirus infections have prompted some Japanese companies to switch to online seminars and interviews for the recruitment of new graduates in April 2021.
- Two all-boy idol groups -- NEWS and SixTONES -- will postpone their respective concerts scheduled for this weekend and early next month due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus in Japan, their talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc. said Tuesday.
As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25 (Japan time)
- Japan's Finance Ministry is closely watching global stock markets and will act to support the domestic economy if needed, as market volatility is increasing on concerns over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the worldwide economy, a senior official said Tuesday.
- Some medical experts have started to warn that using alcohol-based hand sanitizers too much as a protective measure against the new coronavirus raging in China could inversely raise the risk of infection through skin disorders.
- All Nippon Airways Co. said Tuesday it will suspend all remaining flights from Kansai airport in Osaka to China next month due to a drop in demand following the coronavirus outbreak in the neighboring country.
- The J-League said Tuesday it will postpone all official matches scheduled until March 15 to combat the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan. The Yomiuri Giants said their two preseason games against Central League rival Yakult Swallows on the weekend will be played behind closed doors at Tokyo Dome amid the spread of a new coronavirus.
- Authorities across China have begun slowly pulling back on emergency response measures against the new pneumonia-causing coronavirus as Beijing strives to mitigate the fallout on the world's second-largest economy.
- North Korea's most influential newspaper on Tuesday urged citizens to refrain from gathering at restaurants for meals together to prevent infection of the new pneumonia-causing coronavirus raging in China.
- One of the Asia-Pacific region's largest multinational military exercises, Cobra Gold, kicked off in Thailand on Tuesday, with this year's event taking place under the heavy cloud of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus.
- South Korea is set to look into the health of every member of a religious group at the center of an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country as it reported 60 new cases on Tuesday to bring the nation's total infections to 893.
- Seven countries have restricted entry to Japanese nationals and those traveling from Japan in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.
- Japan adopted Tuesday a basic policy to cope with a further spread of the new coronavirus that would put a strain on its medical system, calling for a more efficient use of hospitals to better treat infected people with serious symptoms.
Useful resources for foreign residents and visitors in Japan:
- Japan National Tourism Organization's "Guide for when you are feeling ill"
- Multilingual clinic/hospital search available in English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese
https://www.jnto.go.jp/emergency/eng/mi_guide.html - JNTO's "Japan Visitor Hotline"
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001328767.pdf - Japan's health ministry hotline
- Available in Japanese only, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0120-565653 - World Health Organization's "Q&A on coronaviruses"
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
