Close Watch Should Be Kept on Coronavirus Situation: Panel

   Tokyo, July 13 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese health ministry advisory board on Tuesday underlined the need to keep a close watch on infection trends for the novel coronavirus, citing a recent increase in untraceable cases in Tokyo and other parts of the country.
   The pace of growth in infections is slower than in late March to April, the board said in a report.
   On the increase in infection cases in Tokyo, it said that simple comparison is "not appropriate" because the situation now is different from that in early April, when the Japanese government declared a state of emergency over the epidemic for the country's capital.
   The state of emergency was issued for Tokyo and six other prefectures on April 7 and expanded nationwide on April 16 before being lifted in stages in May.
   The report was drawn up at the advisory board's third meeting, held on Tuesday. Its first and second meetings took place in February, for discussions mainly on measures to deal with mass infections among passengers and crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined off Yokohama, south of Tokyo, at the time.

(2020/07/15-02:24)

To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.