Japan has decided to revoke visas already issued for citizens of almost all European countries, Iran and Egypt, and will also impose a mandatory two-week quarantine for arrivals from these countries, as the global number of COVID-19 cases is growing, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2020) Japan has decided to revoke visas already issued for citizens of almost all European countries, Iran and Egypt, and will also impose a mandatory two-week quarantine for arrivals from these countries, as the global number of COVID-19 cases is growing, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday.
"Due to the spread of the virus, it has been determined that it is necessary to further strengthen quarantine measures for 38 countries, such as Iran and Egypt, as well as European countries, including all Schengen member states ... Single and multiple entry visas already issued for people from these countries will be invalidated," Abe said at the coronavirus response meeting broadcast by his office's website.
The prime minister added that people arriving from the listed countries should self-isolate at government-designated places. The measures are identical to those previously taken by the Japanese government for China and South Korea and will be in place from March 21 until late April.
Japan has also decided to ban entry from some regions of Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Iceland beginning on March 19, according to Abe.
As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan has exceeded 1,600.
