Japan is closing its borders to people coming from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, reports Kyodo News.
The move comes as President Donald Trump extended the U.S.’ guidelines asking people to stay at home and practice social distancing to April 30, citing an estimate that 2.2. million people could die if measures weren’t taken to contain the pandemic.
At least 68 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Tokyo on Sunday, the biggest daily increase since the outbreak. A total of 2,434 people have tested positive as of March 28, including 712 from the Diamond Princess cruise.
Japan has conducted more than 48,000 tests on approximately 28,000 people and found 1,724 cases, per Japanese national broadcasting organization NHK. Still, Japan, a country of about 127 million people, has tested less than South Korea.
The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 721,000 people worldwide and killed more than 33,000. In Japan, 54 people have died.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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