Japan will do everything to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading within the next two weeks, the country's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said on Saturday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th February, 2020) Japan will do everything to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading within the next two weeks, the country's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said on Saturday.

"For the next two weeks or so, I have decided that we must do everything possible to stop the spread of the disease in the country," Abe said during press conference live-streamed on his office's Twitter page.

According to the Kyodo news agency, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Japan is at 210 as of Friday, not including 705 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

On Tuesday, the Japanese government adopted a program to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the country, according to which all individuals with mild symptoms have to stay at home to allow doctors to concentrate on gravely ill.