Japan mulls over special law to fight coronavirus

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Japan is mulling to bring a special law to fight deadly coronavirus while South Korea reported a slight dip in new such cases on Wednesday.

The new law could enable the government to declare a state of emergency to fight the rising number of infections, Kyodo news reported.

The number of infections reported across the country topped 1,000.

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, originated in China’s central Wuhan city last December and has been officially classified as a designated infectious disease in Japan.

Chinese doctors found that infection spreads through faces and urine as well.

- S. Korea allocates $9.8B extra budget to fight virus

Meanwhile, after declaring “war” on the disease, the South Korea government released an extra budget of $9.8 billion to fight the disease and also help mitigate any possible economic fallout.

Some 500 new cases identified on Tuesday brought the nation's total number of infections to more than 5,300, said the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

New Zealand reported two cases of the disease and asked people to call doctors before reaching to clinics for medical examination.

In Australia, where at least 24 cases have been confirmed, it has prompted citizens to stock supplies, while businesses are witnessing slump due to the virus spread.

In an explainer, daily Sydney Morning Herald showed that the Australia share market witnessed 9% fall after Chinese city Wuhan was put in lockdown on Jan. 23 until Feb. 26.

In India, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 28, including 15 Italian tourists.

The country of origin of the infection, China reported almost 3,000 deaths, according to the country's National Health Commission.

However, it also reported a constant drop in new cases with 119 new cases detected until Tuesday night, taking the number of total confirmed cases to 80,270.

The global death toll, after spreading to some 70 countries, is over 3,100.

The World Health Organization, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency Friday, raised the global coronavirus alert level from high to very high.