Japanese coronavirus infections reach 1,000, including cruise ship cases
05 March, 2020
The quantity of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan reached the 1,000 tag on Wednesday (Mar 4), including passengers and crew members who disembarked from the Diamond Princess cruise liner, officials and media said.
The latest infection was confirmed in a man in his 40s in Yamaguchi, the prefecture's governor, Tsugumasa Muraoka, told a news conference.
Cases found in Japan have now hit the 1,000 mark, open public broadcaster NHK said. Of those, 706 happen to be from the Gemstone Princess cruise ship, while 12 have passed away, medical ministry said.
It was the first confirmed circumstance found in the western Japan prefecture of Yamaguchi, highlighting the virus' occurrence throughout the nation which is scrambling to stem its pass on with all eye on the upcoming Summertime Olympics.
"Given how the coronavirus was spreading throughout the country, I thought it could only be considered a matter of time before a circumstance was confirmed found in Yamaguchi," Muraoka explained. "We are doing all we can to prevent the distributed of the virus."
The Olympics are scheduled to open in under five a few months and International Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach on Tuesday reiterated his backing because of this summer's Games regardless of the coronavirus threat, urging athletes to get ready "full steam".
Still, there are concerns the Games could possibly be postponed and even cancelled. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe provides asked schools to close this month, companies are encouraging staff members to work from home and sports are becoming cancelled or played in empty arenas.
Japan's Olympic minister, Seiko Hashimoto, on Tuesday explained Tokyo's deal with the IOC "could be interpreted seeing that allowing a postponement" before end of the year, although she reiterated the federal government remained focused on the Games beginning on Jul 24.
The northern island of Hokkaido, that includes a population around 5 million people, has confirmed a lot more than 70 infections. That is the largest number of cases in Japan, prompting the island to declare circumstances of emergency.
Olympics host metropolis Tokyo has seen 40 cases, while attacks have already been confirmed as much south as Okinawa.
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