Japan to add newpneumonia to specified disease list on Satu

January 31, 2020

Tokyo--The Japanese government decided Friday to designate pneumonia caused by the new strain of coronavirus raging in China as a specified infectious disease Saturday, a week earlier than initially scheduled.

The government is considering covering the airfares for chartered flights it dispatched to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis, to help Japanese nationals return home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced these matters at the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.

The government "will reject the entry into Japan of anybody infected who try to enter the country," Abe told the committee.

The government is also considering what can be done to tighten immigration controls in order to limit the entry into Japan of those suspected but not confirmed to be infected, he added.

The government is considering refusing to issue visas to foreigners suspected of being infected, a government source said.

On Tuesday, the government adopted an ordinance to add the pneumonia to the list of designated infectious diseases under the infectious disease law.

Once the ordinance takes effect, authorities will be able to take compulsory measures, including mandatory hospitalizations of infected citizens.

The ordinance was originally scheduled to enter into effect Feb. 7.

The government moved up the schedule after the World Health Organization on Thursday declared that the coronavirus outbreak in China is a global public health emergency.

Regarding the flight costs, the government initially planned to charge each returnee a one-way fare of some 80,000 yen. But the government met with requests from ruling coalition members that it shoulder the costs.

So far, a total of 565 Japanese nationals, mostly those who stayed in Wuhan, returned to Japan aboard three government-chartered flights sent to the city for evacuation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference that there are still some 140 Japanese nationals in China who are willing to return to Japan.

The government will make arrangements so that all these people can return to Japan early, he added. Jiji Press