Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tested positive for COVID-19 and has relatively mild symptoms, the government said.
Kishida, 65, developed a cough and slight fever on Saturday night and came up positive in a PCR test, according to a statement by the Cabinet Secretariat. He’s currently resting at the prime minister’s official residence and is expected to resume duties Monday, albeit remotely.
Coronavirus infections in the country have remained near record highs, with 24,780 COVID-19 cases found in Tokyo alone on Sunday. That’s forcing politicians and health care officials to reconsider what steps, if any, are needed to contain the outbreak. The same conundrum is facing countries around the globe, as the arrival of more infectious omicron subvariants has led to higher infection rates even as testing in most areas is on the decline.
Kishida, who has been calling on the elderly to get their fourth COVID-19 vaccination, got a booster shot himself earlier this month.
The end of pandemic restrictions on businesses in late March helped to spur the Japanese economy. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s economic output, led the growth, as did capital expenditure. The relaxing of COVID-19 rules resulted in increased spending at restaurants and hotels, as well as on clothes.
Kishida will cancel a planned trip to Tunisia and the Middle East in the next week, Japanese media reported.
The route of infection is unknown at this this time, and only some family members, including Kishida’s wife, are close contacts, broadcaster NHK reported, citing government officials. He played golf last Tuesday — his first round since becoming premier in October — and the following day went to a hot spring resort, Kyodo News reported.
The prime minister finished official duties on Aug. 15, and is set to return to work on Monday after taking summer holiday.
Japan’s government is planning to stop requiring medical facilities to report daily case numbers after the current wave of infections subsides, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday, as Japan mulls classifying the pathogen as endemic.
