Japan has shut down its school system until April in hopes of stemming the global coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked all elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide to close from Monday through the students’ spring break, which ends in early April.
"Efforts have been made to prevent the spread of infection among children in each region, and these one or two weeks will be an extremely critical period," Abe told a Cabinet meeting, according to Japan Times.
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“The government attaches the top priority to the health and safety of children, among others,” he said.
Japan’s health and welfare ministry said Abe’s request does not apply to day care centers for children and after-school facilities for elementary school students.
“The most important thing is to prevent infections,” said Norinobu Sawada, vice principal of Koizumi primary school, “so there aren’t many other options.”
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The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 82,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
Japan has reported 918 cases, including 705 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and eight deaths.
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Saudi Arabia has cut travel to Islam's holiest sites, South Korea toughened penalties for those breaking quarantines and airports across Latin America looked for signs of sick passengers Thursday as the new virus troubled a mushrooming swath of the globe.
The virus has now reached six continents, save Antarctica.
On Wednesday, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first American case of coronavirus that is unrelated to any travel or exposure to another patient.
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In South Korea, the hardest-hit country outside China, four Busan markets known for colorful silks and a dizzying array of other wares were shuttered while the country’s military sent hundreds of its doctors and soldiers to aid in treatment and quarantines.
In Iran, the front line of Mideast infections, officials loosened rules barring the import of many foreign-made items to allow in sanitizers, face masks and other necessities, and removed overhead handles on Tehran’s subways to eliminate another source of germs. Peru put specialists on round-the-clock shifts at its biggest airport, Argentina took the temperature of some new arrivals and El Salvador added bans for travelers from Italy and South Korea.
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The holy city of Mecca, which able-bodied Muslims are called to visit at least once in their lives, and the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina were cut off to potentially millions of pilgrims, with Saudi Arabia making the extraordinary decision to stop the spread of the virus.
With the monarchy offering no firm date for the lifting of the restrictions, it posed the possibility of affecting those planning to make their hajj, a ritual beginning at the end of July this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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