TOKYO: With the entrance exam season for universities and other schools in full swing in Japan, many institutions are on alert in the wake of the spread of a new coronavirus originating in China.

Chukyo University in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, placed masks at exam venues for test-takers to use. The university also decided to allow those infected with the new virus to take the entrance exam on a different date in March. The university took such measures for the first time since 2009, when an outbreak of influenza from a new virus occurred.

"I was told (by my high school) to wear a mask when taking the exam," Hinako Takeshita, 18, who took the exam for Chukyo University on Wednesday, said. "There were many people wearing masks on the train and at the exam venue," she said.

"Around 70 pct of the people at the venue were wearing masks," 18-year-old Yusei Nagase, a fellow exam-taker, who has been taking exams for multiple schools since mid-January, said. "I feel the number of wearers has increased since the outbreak of the coronavirus," said Nagase, a high school third-grader in Aichi.

Gakushuin University in Tokyo has decided to place alcohol disinfectants at its exam venues from Thursday.

Junior high and high schools are also taking steps to make sure their entrance exams are not affected by the threat of the coronavirus.

Meiji Nakano Hachioji High School and Junior High School in Hachioji, Tokyo, will use humidifiers to spread disinfectant agents in its exam venues. Exam-takers will be allowed to wear masks, and those suspected of being infected with the coronavirus will take the test at a separate room from others.

"The measures are the same as for the usual influenza," an official in charge at the schools affiliated with Meiji University said.

Misono Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, is allowing its students who guide test-takers and their parents through the school to wear masks.

"I think it will comfort elementary school students taking the exam and their guardians," said a representative at the girls' school.

The education ministry has called on universities around the country to be flexible in their measures for exam-takers suspected of being infected with the virus, such as allowing them to take tests at later dates.

JIJI Press