The Pan Asian Securities Lending Association (PASLA) and the Risk Management Association’s (RMA) Asian securities lending conference set to be held in Japan in March has been postponed until 2021 due to the continued spread of the coronavirus.
The virus is estimated to have killed more than 550 people and infected around 28,000 globally, with the vast majority of those affected, including all bar two deaths, in China.
In a statement on the decision, the associations cited the World Health Organization’s designation of the virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January as justification for the delay.
“In light of the WHO’s declaration and with the safety of its members, employees, and sponsors foremost in mind, PASLA and RMA have made the decision to postpone this year’s conference in order to safeguard our members’, employees’, and sponsors’ health and welfare,” the statement reads.
“This decision removes the risk of exposing conference attendees to international travel which has already become more restrictive as the virus continues to spread across borders.”
The conference is now scheduled for 2 to 4 March 2021, at the Conrad Tokyo.
Estimated numbers of those infected in each country vary significantly, but Japan is understood to be the second-worst affected country, other than China where the virus originated.
In Japan, estimates by local and international news outlets of those infected as of 6 February go as high as 45 in one report but otherwise sit at around 33. These figures are in part due to 10 confirmed cases on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is currently in quarantine in Yokohama.
Many other confirmed cases in the country include Japanese citizens evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan – the believed epicentre of the crisis – who are also now in quarantine.
The Japanese Government classified the virus as a ‘designated infectious disease’ over the weekend, thereby allowing it to step-up measures, including funds, to limit the outbreak.
The British and US governments’ official travel advice statements both acknowledge the outbreak but do not advise against trips to Japan.
Elsewhere, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand are understood to be among the countries with the most known infected.
The vast majority of cases and deaths remain in China. Of the two deaths reported outside of China, neither were in Japan.
An estimated 28,000 people globally have been infected so far and most estimates place the fatality rate at around 2.1 percent. Most suffers only experiencing flu-like symptoms.
