The welfare ministry on Friday instructed prefectural governments to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on all close contacts of coronavirus-infected patients whether they have displayed symptoms or not.
PCR tests have so far been limited to medical workers and patients presenting with symptoms such as high fever or a cough.
However, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry intends to expand the scope of the tests because there are many cases in which the virus is transmitted to others before symptoms develop.
If a person's test results are negative, considering the incubation period of the virus, they would be obliged to self-quarantine at home for 14 days after their last contact with an infected person. Otherwise, they are to be tested again.
The ministry also issued a guideline that allows infected patients to be discharged from the hospital or to complete medical treatment at home or a hotel without PCR testing if 14 days have passed since they developed the disease and three days have passed since their symptoms had improved. It was found that the risk of infection decreased after about 7 to 10 days from the onset of symptoms.
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