Japan Limits Trips To Another 13 Countries Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Foreign Ministry

Japan Limits Trips to Another 13 Countries Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Foreign Ministry

Japan is extending its entry ban to 13 additional countries, including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, in a bid to impede the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday at a press conference

TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2020) Japan is extending its entry ban to 13 additional countries, including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, in a bid to impede the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday at a press conference.

"For 13 countries, we will raise the warning level on infectious disease to Level 3, namely avoid all travel. More specifically, these countries are ... in Asia - Maldives, Central and Latin America - Uruguay, Colombia, Bahamas, Honduras, Mexico, in Europe - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, in Africa - Cape Verde, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea," Motegi said.

According to the minister, the list of countries was extended, as the pandemic was now mainly spreading in developing countries. As of now, a total of 100 countries are at Level 3, he added.

Meanwhile, the epidemiological situation in Japan appears to be improving. According to the NHK broadcaster, on Tuesday, the authorities registered 72 new cases of the disease, bringing the country's tally to 16,752, including 712 former passengers and crew of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined in Japan's Yokohama for more than one and a half months. Of the total, 682 people have died and more than 9,500 people have recovered.