Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
(Beijing)
As of 11 p.m., Monday, March 23 (Japan time)
- A freelance video cameraman in his 40s working for Kyodo News has been infected with the new coronavirus, the Japanese news agency said Monday.
- The Tokyo Olympic Games torch relay may be drastically reduced in scale in response to the coronavirus pandemic, local organizing committee members said Monday.
- The U.S. Federal Reserve said Monday it will launch an unlimited amount of bond buying as part of its latest batch of measures to support the world's largest economy that has been hit by the new coronavirus.
- Nepal on Monday sealed its borders with China and India for a week, as the government confirmed the landlocked country's second case of coronavirus infection.
- Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies held an emergency conference call Monday to discuss the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, a Japanese government official said.
- The Japanese government will soon tell the International Olympic Committee that it will accept postponement of the forthcoming Summer Games if the organization decides on it as a precaution against the coronavirus, a source familiar with the plan said Monday.
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday this summer's Tokyo Olympics cannot be held under current circumstances due to the new coronavirus pandemic, suggesting for the first time that the games may have to be postponed.
- The Japan Rugby Top League said Monday it has canceled the remainder of the 2019-20 season in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee will determine in the coming days whether to stage the Japanese leg of the torch relay as planned on Thursday in Fukushima Prefecture, as developments surrounding the coronavirus pandemic have been changing rapidly, the organization's President Yoshiro Mori said Monday.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that over the next 48 hours the country will move to its highest coronavirus alert level and shut down all nonessential services and schools in an attempt to slow the spread of the new virus.
- The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee said they will not send teams to the Tokyo Games this summer with their athletes unable to train due to the coronavirus, calling for one-year postponement.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday hinted at the possibility the Tokyo Olympics may have to be postponed, a day after the International Olympic Committee said it will study various operational plans amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The International Olympic Committee said it will assess a postponement of the Tokyo Olympics over four weeks of talks amid mounting criticism by athletes and sports officials during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad tested negative for the new coronavirus but is still under home quarantine after coming into contact with a politician who was infected with virus, his aide said.
- Japan is set to ask travelers from the United States to self-quarantine for 14 days after their arrival to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, a government source said.
- Seventy percent of 300 athletes in an online survey supported a postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, a U.S. daily reported.
As of 10:00 p.m., Sunday, March 22 (Japan time)
- The International Olympic Committee's Executive Board will meet this coming week, months ahead of schedule, to talk about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on training for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
- The Japanese government and ruling parties are negotiating to set the size of an emergency economic package, to be formulated to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, at more than 30 trillion yen ($270 billion), sources close to the matter said Sunday.
- About 70 percent of Japanese parents are worried about the impact the nationwide school shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak is having on their children, a survey by a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization showed recently
- Hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, Japan's economy faces its biggest challenge in more than a decade, with analysts warning of a technical recession and even worse if this summer's Tokyo Olympics is cancelled
- Despite Japan's efforts to carry out more testing for the new coronavirus, medical experts have cast doubt on whether the country can provide adequate testing for citizens and promote effective policies to contain the outbreak
- The number of infections of the new coronavirus has surpassed 300,000 worldwide, with deaths from the disease topping 13,000 as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University and a Kyodo News tally based on government data and media reports.
- Cherry blossoms along the Potomac River in Washington have reached peak bloom, but drew fewer visitors than usual on Saturday as the United States struggles to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus
(Tokyo)
List of major facilities, events affected by coronavirus in Japan
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 - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's hotline
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0570-550571
- Available via fax for those with hearing impairments
03-5388-1396 - 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