This July 20, 2021 file photo shows the Suita, Osaka Prefecture headquarters of Food & Life Companies, which manages conveyor belt sushi chain Sushiro. (Mainichi/Miki Hirano)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Ten staffers of Japanese conveyor belt sushi chain Sushiro, which is operating an outlet at the World Expo in the United Arab Emirates, have been infected with the coronavirus, the Japanese government said.

       The Sushiro restaurant adjacent to the Japan Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo closed Monday and the voluntary suspension of operations will continue until public health and safety is secured, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said Tuesday. The pavilion itself remains open.

       Since its opening in October after a one-year delay due to the global pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai, the first world expo to be held in the Middle East, has been affected by the spread of the coronavirus, including the heavily-mutated Omicron variant, with various events being scaled down.

       On Dec. 11, designated as "Japan Day" by the organizers, pavilion attendants and others held a parade through the expo venue with banners promoting the 2025 World Expo scheduled to be held in Osaka.

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