Japanese Experts Discuss Basic Coronavirus Policy

Tokyo, Feb. 24 (Jiji Press)--Infectious disease and other experts in Japan met in Tokyo on Monday to discuss a comprehensive basic policy to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus that the government is set to adopt on Tuesday. They discussed ways to contain group infections, secure hospital beds and help people acquire the right knowledge of the virus, health ministry officials familiar with the meeting said. Speaking to the meeting, health minister Katsunobu Kato said, "It's extremely important at this time to curb the pace of increase in the number of patients as much as possible." "Now is the time to develop a medical care system to prepare for a possible jump in the number of patients," Kato said. At their first meeting on Feb. 16, the experts agreed that Japan was in the early stage of a coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, the experts said that the coming one to two weeks are crucial to whether the coronavirus outbreak will spread at a much faster pace or draw to a close. People with light symptoms such as cold should stay home, but those who have a fever of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher for at least four days should contact consultation centers set up by prefectural governments, the experts said. On Sunday, Kato said the government will draw up quickly measures that can respond to new developments and show them to the public in the form of a basic policy. END