THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 18, 2020 at 14:05 JST
A quarantine official in protective gear asks passengers arriving on a flight from Seoul to fill out a questionnaire at Narita International Airport on March 9. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Experts advising the Japanese government on coronavirus prevention urged the health ministry March 17 to monitor travelers from Europe, Southeast Asia and Egypt for two weeks after their arrival due to the rapid spread of infections in those regions.
The panel, chaired by Takaji Wakita, chief of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, called on the ministry to ensure that all such arrivals go into self-quarantine at home or in accommodation facilities and shun the use of public transportation during the period even if they test negative and display no symptoms in the absence of confirmation they have had close contact with infected patients.
The panel is scheduled to announce its assessment of the health scare and planned steps to counter the virus on March 19.
Given the rising number of infections among people who have recently been overseas, Wakita said there was an "urgent need" to take additional preventive steps now.
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