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https://scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3050783/japanese-tourist-may-have-spread-coronavirus-hawaii-us-prepares East Asia
Japanese tourist may have spread coronavirus to Hawaii as US prepares to evacuate Diamond Princess passengers
- Once back in Japan, he became more seriously ill and was tested for the coronavirus after going to a hospital
- His precise itinerary remained unclear, except that he stayed at a Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare condo in the Waikiki section of Honolulu
Outside mainland China, Japan is among the nations hardest hit by the coronavirus, with at least 251 confirmed cases. Photo: AP
Health officials in the US state of Hawaii began a search on Friday for anyone who may have had close contact with a Japanese tourist who fell ill on the island of Oahu and tested positive for a new coronavirus soon after returning to his home country.
The case came to public attention at a Honolulu news conference by Governor David Ige and senior state health officials, who said the man in question is believed to have become infected in Japan before embarking on his trip, or while en route to Hawaii.
That assumption is based on the 14-day incubation period of the virus, and the fact that the man became symptomatic after less than a week in Hawaii, the state health officials said.
The patient and his wife visited the island of Maui from January 28 to February 3, then travelled to Oahu, where they stayed until flying on February 7 back to their home in the Aichi Prefecture of central Japan, the officials said.
The man had exhibited no sign of illness until reaching Oahu, where he first developed cold-like respiratory symptoms but no fever, the state’s health direct, Dr Bruce Anderson, told reporters.
Once back in Japan, he became more seriously ill and was tested for the coronavirus after going to a hospital, Anderson said.
Hawaii officials were notified through the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday, and state authorities in turn alerted local health providers to be on the lookout for coronavirus-like illnesses.
“We do believe that this is a serious concern, and I want to assure you that this scenario is exactly what we’ve been preparing for and are prepared for,” the governor said.
The greatest immediate focus is to identify and track down individuals who had “prolonged, face-to-face contacts” with the Japanese man after he began showing symptoms on Oahu, said Dr Sarah Park, the state’s chief epidemiologist.
Based on what is known about transmission of the disease, the patient was unlikely to have been contagious while on Maui because he was asymptomatic then, and anyone who had fleeting, incidental contact with him after he became ill, such as passing him in a hallway, would be considered at low risk, Park said.
The man’s apparent lack of fever while in Hawaii also bodes well because infected individuals are believed to be most contagious when feverish, she said.
The man’s precise travel itinerary remained unclear, except that he stayed at a Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare condo in the Waikiki section of Honolulu, Anderson said, adding that he only sought medical care upon returning to Japan.
State health officials said they were consulting Japanese authorities to get more details of his Hawaii visit.
Meanwhile, the US State Department will evacuate some American citizens and their families aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the biggest cluster of coronavirus infections outside China, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
About 380 people will be offered seats on two evacuation flights from Japan back to the United States, the Journal said, citing a CDC official.
The evacuees will arrive in the US as early as Sunday, the newspaper said, citing Henry Walke, director of the CDC’s Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections.
The CDC was not immediately available for comment. Officials at Japan’s foreign ministry and health ministry were also not available for a comment.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corporation, has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama, Japan, on February 3, with 3,500 passengers and crew on board, of whom 218 have tested positive for the coronavirus infection.
The liner was quarantined in Yokohama after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it travelled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus. Those who have tested positive for the virus have been taken off the ship to hospital.