Patient in Japan confirmed as having new virus from China

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government said Thursday a man treated for pneumonia after returning from China has tested positive for the new coronavirus identified as a possible cause of an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The man developed a fever and cough on Jan. 3 while in Wuhan, returned to Japan on Jan. 6, and was hospitalized four days later as the symptoms persisted, with his X-ray image showing signs of pneumonia, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

Tests conducted Tuesday found the same coronavirus as had been detected in other patients in the Wuhan outbreak, the ministry said.

The man has since been released from hospital as his condition improved. He was only identified as a man in his 30s in the Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo, and Kyodo News agency says he is Chinese. His family and medical staff who treated him have not been sickened.



Pedestrians wear protective masks as they walk through a shopping district in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Japan's government said Thursday a man treated for pneumonia after returning from China has tested positive for the new coronavirus identified as a possible cause of an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)


Read more: https://apnews.com/3845a158612c6cc556c8cb7b91f5d078

[rpannier]

1. We live in Kanagawa

This does not play out well here
Though panic and scapegoating of foreigners (Chinese mostly) has not been something I've seen or heard
As to the masks, people in Japan and Korea wear masks if they are not feeling well, if the dust is moderate or bad, if it's really cold, if they're concerned about catching just an ordinary cold or more, etc. They are much more common in the winter.
The masks are likely not in response to fears of catching the pneumonia.