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Six People in Close Contact With Person Infected With COVID-19 Ran Kumamoto Castle Marathon

The Kumamoto municipal and prefectural governments have released further information on three new cases of infection with the COVID-19 coronavirus within the prefecture. Prefectural officials have identified the bus an infected person used to travel between Fukuoka and Kumamoto, while city officials revealed that six people who came in contact with one of the infected people ran the Feb. 16 Kumamoto Castle Marathon.

At a press conference this week, city officials explained that prior to the onset of her symptoms, a nurse in her 20s came into close contact with eleven friends and colleagues, saying, "She went to the marathon with six of them to cheer at Kumamoto Castle's Ninomaru plaza, and went out for dinner with the other five." However, that information was corrected to eight people who cheered with her and ten who had dinner.

Six of the woman's colleagues in fact ran the marathon, having ridden to it in a car she was driving. Two others had lunch with her in the city. The city tested five of the woman's colleagues on Feb. 22 and two more on Feb. 23. All tested negative.

In the case of the second infected person, a man in his 50s, city officials have identified an additional four people who came into contact with him, bringing the total to seventeen. Four of the seventeen living in the city have had no change in their physical condition, while the other thirteen have requested medical centers to monitor their conditions.

In the case of the third infected person, a man in his 60s, prefectural authorities have identified the long-distance bus that the man used to travel prior to the onset of his symptoms. On Feb. 10 he took the Hinokuni Kyushu Sanko bus departing from Fukuoka Airport's domestic terminal at 1:52 and got off at the Kumamoto Prefectural Office stop at 3:41 p.m. The bus continued on to Kumamoto Sakuracho bus terminal. It had seventeen passengers and crew members, but as of yet there have been no other reported cases among them.

The Prefectural Board of Education also announced that in the event an infection with the virus is confirmed among students or teachers, schools will be closed for a period of up to two weeks. If a family member is infected, the student or teacher will not be allowed to come to school.

source article:
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/n/586588/
translated by Brett Larner

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