Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike called on residents on Sunday to wash their hands and wear surgical masks to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus which has infected thousands around the world as the city prepares to host the 2020 Olympics.
"This is one of the things I'm very worried about," Koike said on the sidelines of an opening ceremony for a 15,000-seat gymnasium in eastern Tokyo that will host volleyball and wheelchair basketball competitions this summer.
Japan on Saturday stepped up its response to the epidemic, classifying the coronavirus as a designated infectious disease, allowing compulsory hospitalization and the use of public funds for treatment, among other measures.