Japan to take full measures against China pneumonia

January 21, 2020

Tokyo--Japan will take full measures to prevent a domestic outbreak of pneumonia apparently caused by a new coronavirus that has sickened many people in China, a senior official said Monday.

"The government, chiefly the health ministry, will take full measures, such as thorough quarantine inspections, while keeping an even closer eye on moves around the world, such as the number of patients," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Akihiro Nishimura told a press conference.

"There is no change in the risk assessment by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases that there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human virus transmission, as no regional spread of the disease has been confirmed," he said. Jiji Press