More Japan prefectures confirm COVID-19 cases

February 29, 2020

Sendai, Miyagi Pref.--A man in his 70s in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, has been confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, the municipal government of the capital of the prefecture said Saturday.

This is the first confirmed case of the virus in Miyagi and in the Tohoku northeastern Japan region, which comprises six prefectures.

On the day, the first COVID-19 cases were also confirmed in the western prefecture of Kochi and the central prefecture of Niigata.

The male resident of Sendai was a passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, quarantined for COVID-19 at the port of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan, according to the Sendai government. The ship has been hit by a massive outbreak of the new coronavirus.

The man disembarked from the Diamond Princess on Feb. 20 following a health-monitoring period, and returned to his home using transport means including a Shinkansen bullet train. His infection was confirmed after he complained of a mild fever and a sore throat on Friday. A member of the man's family who had close contact with him tested negative.

There has been a case in which infection was confirmed after an initial negative virus test result, Sendai Mayor Kazuko Kori said at a press conference, urging the central government to make all-out efforts to figure out details of COVID-19 cases in Japan and develop medication for infected people.

In the city of Kochi, the capital of Kochi Prefecture, a female nurse in her 30s was confirmed to be infected with the virus.

A man in his 60s, a resident of Tokyo, was found to have the virus in the city of Niigata, the capital of Niigata Prefecture. He has been on a trip to the city, his hometown, for caring for a person close to him. Jiji Press