About 3,000 people at the Toyosu Market in Koto Ward, Tokyo, have taken tests for the novel coronavirus on a voluntary basis, and 71 of those tested positive as of Thursday.
The test-takers responded to a call from the Toyosu Market Association, which comprises members such as intermediate seafood wholesalers, after a number of infection cases were confirmed at the wholesale food market since August.
In addition to the voluntary tests urged by the association, another 90 people related to the market have been found to be infected with the virus so far.
"It is unlikely that infections have spread within the market," said an official of the Tokyo metropolitan government, which oversees the market.
However, the metropolitan government is investigating how such a large number of market-related people contracted the virus.
Another factor, relating to the rules by which cases are recorded, also increases Tokyo's numbers.
In Tokyo, there is a high concentration of medical institutions and testing companies that conduct voluntary virus tests. Even if a person living outside of Tokyo tests positive via one of those institutions, it is recorded as an infection case in Tokyo, as the Infectious Diseases Control Law stipulates that doctors who confirm infections must report them to the nearest public health center.
According to the metropolitan government, the 584 people newly confirmed to be infected in Tokyo on Dec. 5 included 33 people living outside of the capital who tested positive in voluntary testing, which was conducted with test samples sent by mail.
"In analyzing the infection situation in Tokyo, such cases need to be eliminated," a metropolitan government official said. "It has also become a burden on public health centers."
The metropolitan government is calling for the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to deal with this matter.
Other issues have been also arisen over voluntary virus tests. It has been pointed out that testing accuracy varies, and that some people who tested positive failed to take measures such as quarantine, in cases when the voluntary tests did not involve doctors, resulting in failures to report the cases to public health centers.
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