Officials wearing masks wait for the arrival of Japanese nationals evacuated from Wuhan, at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo, Thursday. Kyodo via Reuters
TOKYO - Three Japanese evacuated from Wuhan in central China have tested positive for the new coronavirus, with two of them showing no symptoms, the health ministry said Thursday, as Japan plans to strengthen its screening of returnees from the epicenter of the outbreak.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed Cabinet ministers to step up efforts to contain the spread of the deadly virus as the World Health Organization is set to hold a meeting later in the day to discuss whether to declare a global health emergency.
The three, who have been hospitalized, were among 206 Japanese nationals evacuated to Japan on a government-chartered plane from Wuhan on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
It is the first time outside China that a person without symptoms such as fever has been confirmed as infected with the virus, according to Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
The government has so far brought back over 400 Japanese nationals who wished to leave Wuhan and has urged them to be checked for the new coronavirus when they arrive in Japan.
Government officials said the health of evacuees will be monitored for two weeks after they arrive, during which they will be asked to remain indoors, and conducting a further virus test at the end of the period is being considered.
After the first group of 206 evacuees, a further 210 Japanese were flown back home on Thursday on a second government-chartered flight, with 13 of them hospitalized after displaying symptoms such as coughing, the Tokyo metropolitan government said.
"We will put top priority on protecting the lives and health of the people, and we will decide on what needs to be done without hesitation," Abe said in a parliamentary session.
Abe said it was "extremely regrettable" that two of the evacuees had declined to be tested for the virus.
He said authorities had "spent a long time trying to convince them following their return" but could not force them to undergo testing as it is not mandatory under Japanese law.
With about 300 Japanese citizens wanting to return home from Wuhan, which has been under a virtual lockdown since last week, the government is considering a chartering third flight.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government is also considering using public facilities, including the National Police Academy, to house the returnees.
Another option is a ferry, the Hakuo, operated by a private company as the Defense Ministry has a contract to use it in emergency situations such as natural disasters, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
In addition to the three people on Wednesday's flight who tested positive for the virus, eight cases have been confirmed within Japan, mostly tourists from Wuhan.
A tour bus driver and a guide who had been in contact with tourists from Wuhan were confirmed as infected with the virus earlier in the week, and the health ministry acknowledged Thursday they were the first cases of human-to-human transmission in Japan.
While Japan is on high alert to prevent the virus from spreading, health minister Katsunobu Kato said the situation has not yet reached the stage when the government needs to call for large-scale events to be canceled.
China said confirmed cases of infection have exceeded 7,700 and the death toll has reached 170 on the mainland, including over 120 in Wuhan.
Aside from China and Japan, cases of infection have been confirmed in 14 countries including Thailand, Australia, Singapore and the United States, according to a WHO report as of Wednesday.
The Philippines and India confirmed their first cases on Thursday.