Abe: "Foreigners with experience staying in China's Zhejiang Province also denied entry"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on the 12th that he will take measures to refuse entry to foreigners who have stayed in Zhejiang Province, following Hubei Province, China, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia).

According to NHK and other broadcasts, Prime Minister Abe said this during a novel coronavirus task force meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office on the morning of the same day. The effect of this measure will begin at midnight on the 13th. Foreigners who have stayed in the relevant areas within the past 14 days will not be allowed to enter Japan.

Earlier, the Japanese government had refused entry to foreigners who had stayed in Hubei Province, the origin of the novel coronavirus infection, within the past 14 days, starting from the 1st of this month. As the spread of the novel coronavirus continued in Zhejiang Province recently, the government decided to expand the areas subject to entry refusal.

Prime Minister Abe also stated that foreigners who have stayed in other areas where the novel coronavirus infection is spreading, besides Hubei and Zhejiang Provinces, will be refused entry without the need for Cabinet approval.

Additionally, at the meeting, Prime Minister Abe announced that the testing system for novel coronavirus among passengers and crew members of the cruise ship "Diamond Princess," docked at Yokohama Port, will be strengthened. On the same day, 39 new infections were confirmed on the Diamond Princess, where a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus has occurred.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.