Hokkaido eyes temporary shutdown of all schools to fight coronavirus

The education board of Hokkaido urged local authorities Wednesday to temporarily close all 1,600 public and private elementary and junior high schools on the northernmost main island, in an effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.The education board called for the schools' closure for a week from Thursday in the first such widespread move due to the virus in the country, board officials said.The Hokkaido government has confirmed a total of 39 people infected with the pneumonia-causing virus that originated in China. Among them are students, a teacher and a school bus driver.As o…READ FULL ARTICLE