Japan Creates Coronavirus Task Force Amid Fears of Second Wave of Infections - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Japanese government set up a task force on Thursday to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, paving the way for a state of emergency declaration ahead of a possible second wave of infections, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said.

The panel will draw up a roadmap for dealing with the pandemic, according to the broadcaster.

The creation of the expert panel is the first step toward declaring a state of emergency that will allow the government to scale up restrictive measures to prevent returning travellers from reintroducing the infectious disease, the so-called second wave.

The number of infections in the country has reached 1,313, with 45 people dying since the start of the outbreak. An additional 712 patients were brought to the mainland from the stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship.