By AFPMore by this AuthorTokyoJapan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday urged schools nationwide to close for several weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, as authorities reported the country's fourth death linked to the outbreak. "We request all primary, junior high and high schools... across the nation to close temporarily from March 2 next week until their spring break." The spring break for public schools usually starts in late March in Japan and lasts several weeks. The city of Osaka also said it will close its kindergartens, elementary and junior high schools from Saturday for two weeks. Aside from the cruise ship, Japan has seen at least 186 cases of infection among the general population with four deaths.

Source: Daily Nation February 27, 2020 12:00 UTC