Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revealed Monday that he had instructed officials to increase supplies needed to test people for the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV and arrange for more facilities where testing can be conducted.
During a Lower House Budget Committee session Monday, the prime minister said the government has already begun developing a portable testing kit for the virus, which has caused cases of pneumonia that have often been fatal.
The government, he added, is making arrangements for 2019-nCoV testing to be performed not only at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and public health centers, but also at private testing facilities.