Japan’s health ministry officials have confirmed the first two cases of coronavirus infection without any symptoms in the country. They say the cases without signs of infection are the first to be made public outside of China.
The ministry confirmed that three evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan have the new type of coronavirus.
The three individuals were among 823 passengers who returned to Japan on Wednesday on a government-chartered flight.
A man in his 201 s and a woman in her s do not have any signs of infection, but they have tested positive.
Another man in his 50 s reported pain in his throat and later developed a fever before testing positive.
The number of people in Japan who’ve been infected now stands at 40.
The virus was not detected in 201 other passengers from the same flight. Two passengers refused to take the test. And health officials say they will continue to persuade them to get tested.
The ministry says the confirmation of infections of two people who had not traveled to Wuhan proves person-to-person transmission in Japan.
But the ministry is urging the public not to be overly anxious, as the coronavirus has not spread over a wide area.
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