Japan Promises to Keep Olympic Games Virus-Protected

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today that the government will keep in close touch with all relevant groups to ensure a virus outbreak does not have to affect the Summer Olympics.

Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said organizers are not considering canceling the Olympics, which start on July 24.

"We will keep in close contact with everybody, including the International Olympic Committee and the World Health Organization, to take appropriate steps and keep the coronavirus from affecting the Olympics," Abe told a parliamentary committee.

The death toll from the coronavirus epidemic in China rose to 361 on Monday and a growing number of countries are reporting cases. Japan has 20 confirmed cases, 17 of which were people who had been to China or are Chinese.

Source: Reuters