TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2022) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after starting to experience mild symptoms the day before, media reported.
The 65-year-old head of the Japanese government had a slight fever and developed a cough on Saturday night, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing the prime minister's office. The result of a PCR test obtained on Sunday confirmed that he had been infected with COVID-19.
Kishida is now receiving medical treatment at his official residence, according to the media outlet. His wife and eldest son Shotaro, who works as his secretary, have reportedly been identified as "close contacts."
The announcement about the top official's disease came amid the seventh wave of COVID-19 infections in Japan. Even the second COVID-19 booster shot Kishida received on August 16 failed to protect him against the virus. In total, the Japanese prime minister was vaccinated against COVID-19 four times.
Kishida was supposed to fly to Tunisia next week to attend the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), but now he is expected to participate in the event remotely.
On August 19, Japan registered over 260,000 new COVID-19 cases, marking thus the largest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. In total, over 16.9 million people have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Japan and 36,772 died.
