Panasonic Corp. is considering closing some of its plants in Japan temporarily, company officials said Wednesday, after the country declared a state of emergency the previous day over the coronavirus outbreak.

The electronics maker is looking to partly halt operations at some 30 plants in five of seven prefectures affected by the declaration including Osaka and Hyogo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued the declaration Tuesday also covering Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Fukuoka, enabling local authorities to instruct people to stay at home and ask companies to close large facilities such as department stores.

The prefectures can also demand manufacturers restrict the use of their plants, but have yet to issue such a request. Panasonic is considering voluntarily closing some plants to ensure the safety of its employees while also studying what impact that decision will have on client companies, the officials said.

==Kyodo

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