Coronavirus outbreak updates: April 16, 2020

As of 11 p.m., Thursday, April 16 (Japan time)

• A city assembly in eastern Japan approved an ordinance Thursday urging residents to wear face masks to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus, a first for the country.
  
  
• A popular tourist city in Japan urged sightseers on Thursday to refrain from visiting for the time being, due to growing concerns from residents over the potential spread of the coronavirus
  
  
• Taiwan on Thursday donated 2 million face masks to Japan for provision to frontline medical personnel to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Foreign Ministry
  
  
• Cloth masks started arriving at post offices in Tokyo on Thursday under a controversial Japanese government program for their universal distribution to help contain the novel coronavirus outbreak.
  
  
• Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to declare a nationwide state of emergency in an attempt to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus in Japan, a government official said Thursday.
  
  
• Japan plans to pay a one-off cash handout of 100,000 yen to all citizens regardless of income levels as part of measures to help them cushion the fallout from the spread of the new coronavirus, officials said Thursday.
  
  
• While healthcare providers are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic fight, the deathcare industry is bracing for action behind the frontlines, hoping to retain as much of a human touch as possible as virus fatalities mount.
  
  
• Sake breweries across Japan have begun producing high-alcohol content liquids for use in place of the alcohol-based sanitizers that have become as scarce as face masks during the coronavirus crisis.
  
  
• Japan is considering expanding the list of prefectures covered by the government's state of emergency declaration over the coronavirus outbreak, with Kyoto among the candidates, an official said Thursday.
  
  
• The United States has likely passed the peak in new coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump said Wednesday as he pushes to bring the nation's shutdown-hit economy back to life.
  
  
• The Japanese government's cautious approach to broadening coronavirus testing has created a dilemma for people who suspect they have been exposed to the virus and are choosing to stay at a hotel at their own expense.
  
  
• The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday expressed regret over President Donald Trump's decision to halt U.S. funding for the U.N. agency, while remaining tight-lipped about the precise financial impacts of the move on WHO operations.
  
  
• Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies said Wednesday they agreed on debt relief for developing countries until the end of the year to help them take measures against the new coronavirus outbreak.