Newsfrom Japan

Sapporo, Feb. 26 (Jiji Press)--Hokkaido's education board Wednesday asked all public elementary and junior high schools in the northernmost Japan prefecture to close for at least a week, to help contain the new coronavirus.

A similar request is being made to private schools in Hokkaido, where the number of COVID-19 infections is rising. About 1,600 public and private elementary and junior high schools are subject to the prefectural board's requests.

The requested closure period is seven days from Thursday. But local municipal education boards and school operators are left to make their own decisions on the length of the closure.

The prefectural board will consider extending the period depending on how the disease spreads in the prefecture.

Hokkaido is the first prefecture to request the closure of all local elementary and junior high schools in response to the virus crisis.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]