As of 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 10 (Japan time)
- South Korean health authorities reported a cluster infection case that broke out at a call center in Seoul with 50 people testing positive for the new coronavirus, in what local media called the largest known case of its kind in the country's capital.
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday extended his previous request for big sports and cultural events to be canceled or postponed due to the spread of the new coronavirus, while expanding Japan's entry ban to travelers from parts of Italy from Wednesday as infections in the country have jumped.
- Japan on Tuesday adopted a 1 trillion yen ($9.6 bil.) level fresh emergency package for businesses battered by the new coronavirus outbreak, featuring 500 billion yen in zero-interest loans for small and midsize companies short of cash due to sharp falls in sales.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan, the epicenter of China's new-coronavirus outbreak, on Tuesday, state media reported.
- Fewer people are donating blood in Japan amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus, leading the Japanese Red Cross Society to voice concern over potential supply shortages.
- Japan's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill that would enable Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency if needed as Japan scrambles to curb coronavirus infections ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
- The reselling of face masks for profit will become a crime in Japan punishable by a one-year prison sentence or a 1 million yen ($9,800) fine, or both, amid surging demand spurred by the coronavirus epidemic, the government said Tuesday.
- U.S. stocks took a nosedive in New York with the Dow marking its largest single-day points drop amid growing concerns over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.
- The head of the World Health Organization said the threat of the new coronavirus becoming a pandemic is growing as over 100 countries and regions have reported cases of the virus.
- Japan is planning to impose an entry ban on people coming from parts of northern Italy that have been hit hard by the new coronavirus, government sources said.
- The Grand Princess cruise ship carrying over 3,000 crew and passengers, including some infected with the new coronavirus, docked in a port on the San Francisco Bay to start the disembarkation of passengers for testing and quarantine.
As of midnight, Monday, March 9 (Japan time)
- Ceremonies for the lighting and handover of the Olympic flame ahead of the Summer Games will start this week in Greece as scheduled, but without spectators amid the spread of the new coronavirus, Tokyo Olympics CEO Toshiro Muto said Monday.
- The battle to contain the new coronavirus could take months or even last beyond year-end, a Japanese government panel of experts on communicable diseases warned Monday.
- Trading on Wall Street was suspended briefly on Monday after shares opened sharply lower amid increasing concerns over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.
- Japan implemented tougher border control measures on Monday for travelers from China and South Korea, effectively banning tourists from the two countries through the end of this month as part of measures to prevent a surge in coronavirus infections.
- Japan's professional baseball establishment said Monday it will delay the start of the season for both the Central and Pacific leagues, originally scheduled for March 20, due to the coronavirus crisis. The J-League, meanwhile, said it will extend its suspension of soccer matches until at least April 3.
- Tokyo financial markets were rattled Monday by escalating coronavirus fears and plunging oil prices, with the Nikkei ending at a 14-month low and the dollar briefly diving to the mid-101 yen level, its lowest since November 2016.
- Japan's health ministry said Monday it has urged local governments to prepare their hospitals for an influx of people infected with the new coronavirus by providing equations for calculating numbers at their peak.
- South Korea began rationing face masks on Monday to cope with a severe shortage among the public as the nation scrambles to contain the spread of the coronavirus that has infected nearly 7,400 people
- About 60 diplomats and other foreigners left North Korea for Russia on Monday on a special flight arranged by the country's state-run carrier amid coronavirus fears.
- Crew aboard the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship had continued contact with infected passengers even following the government request on Feb. 5 that passengers self-quarantine in their rooms, a Japanese crew member told Kyodo News in a recent phone interview.
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
(England and Japan players bump fists before a SheBelieves Cup women's football match, instead of shaking hands amid the global spread of the coronavirus)