Japan keeps high coronavirus alert as more citizens return from China (updated)

NTT Data

17/02/2020 04:14

(Adds hospital suspending new patient admissions)
    By Naomi Tajitsu
    TOKYO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Japan evacuated more citizens from
the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak on Monday, while the
disease's spread prompted a hospital to stop accepting new
patients and raised the possibility of restricting participants
at next month's Tokyo Marathon.
    A fifth government-chartered flight carrying 65 Japanese
arrived in Tokyo from Wuhan, China, early on Monday, bringing
the total number repatriated from the city to 763, broadcaster
NHK reported. 
    With more than 400 people infected, most of whom are
passengers on a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan is the
country most affected by the epidemic behind China, where the
outbreak was first detected in December and which has now killed
more than 1,700 people.
    A hospital in Sagamihara, 50km (31 miles) west of Tokyo,
said it would suspend admissions of new patients as one of its
nurses tested positive for the virus after treating a patient
who later died of the disease. 
    The widening fallout is damaging output and tourism in
Japan, undermining growth and potentially pushing the country
into recession, analysts say.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AE05X urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AH0DC
    The risk that cases in Japan may increase is threatening to
limit one of the world's biggest marathons, scheduled for March
1.     
    Organisers of the Tokyo Marathon are considering restricting
the number of general participants in this year's race as a
precaution against the further spread of infection, the Asahi
newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.
    Marathon organisers were not immediately available for
comment. 
    Trimming down the size of the marathon, which has more than
300,000 entrants this year, would be the latest effect on an
international sporting event in Japan due to the virus.
    The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 has postponed a qualifying basketball
match between Japan and China, which was initially scheduled to
be held in Chiba, near Tokyo, later this week.
    As hundreds of passengers prepare to be evacuated from the
quarantined cruise ship, one member of the testing team from
Japan's health ministry has tested positive for the disease, the
ministry said.  
    Companies are stepping up measures to prevent the spread of
the virus, SARS-CoV-2 as the number of infections in the country
ticks up daily. A growing number of cases have been reported in
people who have neither visited China nor have had direct
contact with people arriving from the country.
    Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp  9432.T , one of Japan's
biggest companies, said it was urging its roughly 200,000
group-wide employees to work from home or stagger their
commutes.
    On Friday, NTT Data Corp  9613.T  said an external employee
who works at one of its buildings was confirmed with the
coronavirus. The company had ordered 14 workers who had come
into close contact with this person to work at home, it said.  

 (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu, additional reporting by Noriyuki
Hirata and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Gerry
Doyle)
 ((naomi.tajitsu@thomsonreuters.com; +81364411078; Reuters
Messaging: naomi.tajitsu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))