Japan Set To Enforce Virus - Related Orders On Sat.
The Japanese government says it will start enforcing on Saturday ordinances that allow it to tighten immigration controls and take other measures to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading.
The government initially planned to start enforcing the ordinances next Friday. The move to fast-track their enactment came after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday.
The orders list the virus as a "designated infectious disease" and require checks to be carried out at the country's ports of entry.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the implementation of the ordinances would be sped up at a Diet committee meeting on Friday.
Abe said people infected with the virus will be denied entry into Japan, in accordance with the ordinances.
An order will allow authorities to forcibly hospitalize infected patients. Officials will also be permitted to instruct people to take a leave of absence from work for a certain period.
Abe said at the Diet committee meeting that the government may shoulder the costs of flights chartered to Tokyo from Wuhan. Wuhan is the epicenter of the outbreak. The government had said earlier that it would charge each returnee about 730 dollars for a flight.
