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TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Disneyland will be closed from Saturday to March 15 due to concerns about coronavirus infections spreading in Japan, its operator said on Friday, leaving all of Walt Disney Co's DIS.N theme parks in Asia temporarily shut.
Both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea will be closed after a government recommendation that big gatherings and events be curtailed for two weeks, park operator Oriental Land Co Ltd 4661.T said.
“We plan to reopen on March 16, but we will make an announcement after keeping close contact with relevant institutions,” Oriental Land said on its website, adding that it would inform ticket holders of refund policies.
Osaka-based theme park Universal Studios Japan also said it was closing down during the same period.
The announcements also come a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for all schools to be closed down until the new academic year starts in early April.
Oriental Land shares closed up 0.66 percent on Friday, with investors having priced in the closures already after a slide of over 17 percent since the start of the year.
Disney’s Shanghai and Hong Kong theme parks remain closed for more than a month, and the company earlier this month warned of a negative impact on its second quarter results.
It said on an earnings call on Feb. 5 that closure of the Shanghai park could impact operating profit by about $135 million if closed for 2 months.
Reporting by Ritsuko Ando and Brenda Goh; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Michael Perry
