According to the Japan Tourism Administration, the group of tourists arrived in Oita Prefecture and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 30. All visitors are not feverish and are expected to be quarantined in a facility treating COVID-19 patients. The company handling the trip is coordinating with the authorities to handle the situation.
An infected tourist suffered from a sore throat on Monday morning and was taken to a medical facility for testing. After the positive results, the notice was immediately sent to the local public health office and the authorities of Oita and Fukuoka provinces.
"We believe that the initial response to this infection has been well addressed," said an official at the Department of Tourism.
The remaining three people participating in the tour are considered to have a close relationship but all gave negative test results and had no symptoms. The tourism department said they are currently quarantined at a hotel.
The group arrived at Fukuoka airport via Tokyo's Haneda airport last Friday. Their journey includes going to Fukuoka's Tenjin resort and a hot spring resort in Oita. The travel company is responsible for supporting the declaration of the schedule of a group of tourists with infected people.
On Tuesday, the Chief of the Urban Affairs Office Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the Government will review response and guidance on disease prevention based on the latest situation. On the other hand, he denied that the detection of infected people would affect Japan's plan to double the daily entry limit (from 10,000 to 20,000 people on Wednesday). He asserted: "I do not know about any planned changes."
It is known that the small-scale trial tour is part of the government's program to confirm measures to deal with COVID-19 arising as Japan continues to loosen border control after the pandemic, starting to receive foreign tourists in stages from mid-June.
The program began on May 24, and about 50 employees of the travel agency and others from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore were invited to participate in tours across Japan. In particular, they are required to take drastic measures to prevent infection, including wearing masks.
From June 10, Japan will allow tourists from 98 countries and regions to visit for tourism. However, initially, tourists were only allowed to participate in tour tours with tour guides as a way to reduce the risk of infection.
Tetsuo Saito, Director of the Tetsuo Tourism Bureau, said the government will urge dealers to require travelers to commit to Japan's infection prevention measures, such as wearing masks during tours. In addition, tour guides can also ask tourists to take other disease prevention measures as committed by package tours.
