Japan is taking unprecedented measures to fight the new coronavirus despite many unknowns, including denying the entry of foreign travelers from China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the viral outbreak.

The official designation of the coronavirus as a "special infectious disease" on Saturday -- a week earlier than initially planned -- gives Tokyo the legal basis to enforce compulsory measures that also include banning foreign nationals infected with the virus from entering the country, regardless of where they are from.

Under the new measures, Japanese authorities can instruct foreign visitors suspected of being infected to have a medical examination at their point of arrival, while forced hospitalization is also an option.

(Tourists stroll Kiyomizu slope, a popular sightseeing spot in Kyoto, wearing facial masks on Jan. 30, 2020, amid the spreading coronavirus.)

As the number of infections in Japan is on the rise, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sounded the alarm about cases in which infected people do not show symptoms such as fever, coughing, or pneumonia. Figuring out who is infected might be difficult unless virus tests are conducted.

Foreigners who have been in Hubei within two weeks -- the virus's estimated incubation period -- prior to their arrival to Japan, will be barred. Foreigners are now required to declare at airports if they have been to Hubei during that period, Japanese officials said.

Holders of Chinese passports issued in the central Chinese province will also be prohibited from entering the country in principle.

They are subject to the precautionary measures, whether they display symptoms or not.

"We need to prepare steps to tackle the outbreak by using something that is objective," a Japanese government official said of Tokyo's decision to target Hubei-issued Chinese passports.

The moves came after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency on Thursday, and opposition lawmakers criticized the Japanese government for not doing enough to fend off the virus.

( Chinese tourists look at face masks at an electronics store in Tokyo's Akihabara district on Jan. 27, 2020.)

After a second emergency meeting, however, WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus said the organization decided not to recommend travel or trade restrictions under the current circumstances.

Confirmed cases of the new coronavirus that emerged in December have mushroomed in China, topping 10,000. In Japan, the number of infected people, including those traveling from Wuhan, stood at 17 as of Friday.

Japan did not take measures such as an entry ban targeting foreigners from a specific region when it grappled with the spread of infectious diseases, including Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.

In recent years, Japan has drawn growing numbers of foreign visitors. Chinese travelers made up about 30 percent of the total in 2019, becoming the biggest group, according to government data.

Japanese government officials say it is not a blanket ban on holders of Hubei-issued Chinese passports, noting that exceptions will be made under special circumstances.

But it is still unclear, for instance, whether a case in which a person has a Chinese passport issued in Hubei but lives in a different province or country will warrant an exception. Uncertainty also remains over whether a Chinese national with a passport from Hubei who is married to a Japanese will be allowed to enter Japan.

The restrictions will remain in place "for the time being," Abe said, with one immigration official saying, "It will depend on (the possibility of) an extensive outbreak."

Looking ahead, Japan is also making preparations to ask passengers on all flights from China to Japan whether they have been to Wuhan and about the condition of their health in questionnaires, government officials have said.

The Japan National Tourism Organization has a hotline for foreign visitors who need assistance in emergencies. They can also inquire about the new coronavirus in English, Chinese and Korean at 050-3816-2787.


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