Japan to designate new pneumonia as specified disease

January 27, 2020

Tokyo--Japan will designate pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus that is spreading mainly in China as a specified infectious disease, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday.

The government plans to make the move at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Abe told the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament.

The designation under the infectious disease law will allow authorities to conduct compulsory hospitalization of infected patients and stop them from attending work. Jiji Press