Japan has decided to revoke visas already issued to citizens of almost all European countries, Iran and Egypt.
It also plans to impose mandatory two-week quarantine for arrivals from these countries.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced this on Wednesday as the global number of COVID-19 cases is on the increase.
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“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.
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.
According to Abe, Japan has also decided to ban entry from some regions of Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Iceland beginning on March 19.
However, as of Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan has exceeded 1,600.