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Coronavirus patients in Osaka, Hyogo seen reaching 3,300 by April 3

People in the busy Osaka retail street wear face masks during the coronavirus outbreak. (Shutterstock)
People in the busy Osaka retail street wear face masks during the coronavirus outbreak. (Shutterstock)
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20 Mar 2020 06:03:14 GMT9
20 Mar 2020 06:03:14 GMT9

OSAKA: The combined number of patients of the novel coronavirus in the two neighboring western Japan prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo is expected to reach 3,374, including 227 in serious conditions, between March 28 and April 3, the Japanese health ministry has warned.

The estimate is included in a draft emergency package of measures against the virus, which was proposed to the prefectures by the ministry.

In the package, which was shown at Friday's meeting of Osaka Prefecture's task force on the virus, the ministry said that infections in Osaka and Hyogo seem to be starting to increase rapidly, with clusters of infections expanding gradually throughout the two prefectures.

Following the warnings, the Osaka government decided to extend the restraints on events sponsored by the prefecture to April 3. The events were initially planned to be restarted in stages from Saturday. Facilities owned by the prefecture will also remain closed until April 3.

"The figures presented by the ministry are concrete and realistic, so we need to take them seriously," Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters after the meeting, calling on citizens to refrain from nonessential outings during the ongoing three-day weekend including Friday, a national holiday.

The Osaka government has already asked people to avoid making nonurgent trips between Osaka and Hyogo during the weekend.

As a reason for extending the restraints on events, Yoshimura cited the risk of the virus spreading further due to an increase in the number of people coming back from abroad.

JIJI Press

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