Japanese Fully Recovered in Japan Tests Positive in Korea

Presumed Due to Differences in Testing Methods

Domestic circulating novel coronavirus infection virus group / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has been revealed that a Japanese national who was declared recovered after isolation treatment following a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Japan tested positive again immediately after entering South Korea.

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 12th that a Japanese national, Mr. A (Paju case number 109), who had been residing in South Korea and visited Japan to see family, was confirmed positive for COVID-19.

Mr. A departed for Japan on the 28th of last month and underwent a COVID-19 test at the airport, which returned a positive result. He then received isolation treatment for 11 days.

After testing negative in a COVID-19 test on the 9th, Mr. A returned home to his residence in Japan, and then re-entered South Korea on the 11th. Immediately after entry, he visited the Paju City Public Health Center's screening clinic, underwent a COVID-19 test, and was confirmed positive again.

Regarding the differing test results from South Korea and Japan, health authorities are presuming that the discrepancy stems from differences in testing methods between the two countries. Japan uses a rapid antigen test, whereas South Korea employs the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, which has higher sensitivity.

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