Education officials across the country are scrambling to decide whether to reopen schools in their districts following recommendations from a top government panel on the novel coronavirus Wednesday night.
The panel composed of infectious disease experts said that extending school closures in areas particularly hard-hit by COVID-19, such as Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture, could be an option. More than 95 new cases were reported in Tokyo on Thursday, the sharpest rise in one day.
It did not explicitly weigh in on the prospect of reopening schools in areas with a moderate number of COVID-19 patients or places where no cases have been reported.