Five Japanese returnees test negative for Wuhan coronavirus

January 30, 2020

Tokyo--Five of the 206 Japanese nationals brought back on a government-chartered plane from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of pneumonia blamed on a new strain of coronavirus, have tested negative for the virus, it was learned.

Feeling unwell, the five were sent to two hospitals designated as institutions to deal with specific infectious diseases following the All Nippon Airways flight's arrival at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda.

Two of them were diagnosed with pneumonia. But they and the other three were all confirmed not to have the new coronavirus later. Three of the five are men in their 30s to 50s, and two are women in their 50s.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, four of the five people were admitted to Ebara Hospital in Tokyo's Ota Ward. Two of them--a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s--who complained of such symptoms as a cough and a fever were initially diagnosed with pneumonia following computed tomography scan tests.

One of the two women was admitted to Komagome Hospital in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward.

The five people are all in stable condition, according to the metropolitan government.

The health ministry said that eight of the 201 other passengers who did not have any symptoms upon their arrival at Haneda began to exhibit fevers or coughs later. Seven of them, excluding one who is complaining of a headache, are slated to be hospitalized in the capital.

After arrival at Haneda, the 201 people took virus tests at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. The test results will be notified to them later.

The government-chartered aircraft was the first for the purpose of bringing back Japanese nationals from Wuhan and other parts of China's Hubei Province in response to the new coronavirus crisis. Mainly among the 206 passengers were people with high risks of infection, including those whose residences are near a Wuhan seafood market, where the outbreak is believed to have started.

A medical team boarded the plane and checked the health conditions of the evacuees. The passengers were asked questions such as how long they had stayed in China and where they had visited.

A thermographic device and thermometers were used to see whether the evacuees had a fever or other symptoms of pneumonia.

The five people in question who felt unwell were sent to the two Tokyo hospitals by ambulance.

The 201 others were sent to the Shinjuku institution in dedicated buses.

The government will ask even those who test negative for the virus to refrain from going out for two weeks when not necessary. Their health conditions will be checked regularly for a while.

According to the health ministry, people who have tested negative and show no symptoms are unlikely to be infected.

This is the first time for the Japanese government to bring its nationals back home in response to an infectious disease outbreak, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The ANA plane carried 15,000 face masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves, 8,000 pairs of protective glasses and other emergency relief supplies, which were delivered to the Chinese side. Jiji Press