Federation judo meeting causes 16 corona infections in organisation

The All Japan Judo Federation said Sunday that its managing director, Soya Nakazato, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections within the federation to sixteen. Seven more people from the All Japan Judo Federation (AJJF) have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections within the federation to 16.

Japan's judo governing body said that those infected consist of 12 men and 4 women, including managing director Soya Nakazato.

The virus has actually paralyzed the organization since nearly half of the 39 staff members have tested positive and as of last weekend, 24 had developed symptoms of the pneumonia-causing virus, including fever, and 18 had taken a PCR test.

The 62-year-old Nakazato developed a fever Last week and underwent a test for the virus on Wednesday. His positive result marks the ninth case of infection among members working at the federation's headquarters in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare defines an infection cluster as a "case where five or more infected persons are found in one place."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and for the time being I would like to concentrate on treatment and recovery," Nakazato said in a comment.

The federation closed the headquarters in principle from March 30, but a meeting was held there the following day which Nakazato attended.

As of Saturday, 24 of 38 staff members had developed symptoms of the pneumonia-causing virus, including fever, and 18 had taken a PCR test. One test was negative, while eight individuals are still awaiting their test results.

More than 1.8 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, resulting in more than 114,000 deaths to date. Japan has reported more than 7,000 cases and more than 120 deaths since the outbreak began.