Elderly Man with an “Underlying Condition” Infected with COVID-19 Dies in Hokkaido

From Jiji Press

March 1st 2020

SAPPORO – An elderly man infected with the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in the Kushiro region in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido has died, the prefectural government said Sunday.

The man, who was in his 70s, was the third person to die in Hokkaido after being infected with the virus originating in China. Of all people who have tested positive for the virus in Japan, 12 were confirmed to have died.

The man had an underlying condition. He developed pneumonia while being hospitalized at a medical institution in the city of Kushiro, according to sources including the Hokkaido government.

After testing positive for the virus last Tuesday, the man was moved to another hospital in the city on Wednesday and died on Saturday night.

Due to the possibility of in-hospital infection, tests for the new coronavirus were conducted on staff workers at the hospitals and inpatients who shared the rooms with the man. While all of them showed negative results, the Hokkaido government is continuing to check their conditions.