Tokyo, Japan, COVID-19 Positivity Rate at 0.6%... '18 Times Higher Than Confirmed Case Count'

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] A 'antibody test' to identify past infections of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) conducted in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, showed a positive rate of 0.6%. Based on this study, it is estimated that the actual number of COVID-19 patients in Japan could be 18 times the officially announced figure.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun on the 15th, a team led by Professor Emeritus Tatsuhiko Kodama of the Advanced Science and Technology Research Center at the University of Tokyo conducted antibody tests on 500 Tokyo residents, resulting in 3 positive cases. Antibody tests detect antibodies that appear after infection and recovery from COVID-19, allowing confirmation of past infection history. The University of Tokyo conducted the antibody tests on blood samples collected from medical institutions across Japan on the 1st and 2nd of this month, yielding these results.

Based on the proportion of positive antibodies, the estimated number of confirmed cases in Tokyo alone could be 83,880. This is 18 times the number of officially confirmed infections during the same period in Tokyo. The population of Tokyo Metropolis is 13.98 million.

However, since the number of antibody tests conducted was small, it is difficult to confirm whether the actual scale of confirmed cases is accurately reflected.

In this regard, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced plans to conduct large-scale antibody testing involving 10,000 people next month in Tokyo, Osaka, and Miyagi Prefecture.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.