Japan warns against trips to some parts of South Korea, Italy due to coronavirus

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan on Sunday raised its infectious disease advisory levels for parts of South Korea and Italy, urging its citizens not to take trips to South Korea’s Daegu and Cheongdo regions and avoid non-urgent trips to three areas in Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Until Saturday, the Japanese government had told its people not to make non-urgent trips to Daegu and Cheongdo, while advising potential travelers to Italy’s Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna to be cautious.

Japan itself is grappling with a spreading domestic outbreak of the coronavirus, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday asked Japan’s entire school system, from elementary to high schools, to close from March 2 until their upcoming spring break late in the month to help contain the outbreak.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Mark Potter)