Aichi: Pub staffer tests positive for coronavirus after infected man sought ‘to spread’ it

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AICHI (TR) – Aichi Prefectural Police will investigate a man in Gamagori City who after learning he was infected with the novel coronavirus visited two bars despite a request from a hospital to stay at home.

A female staff member at the second bar, dubbed a Philippine pub, has been confirmed as infected with the novel coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19. The bar will remain closed for two weeks, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 13).

A video that emerged last week shows the man, aged in his 50s, doing karaoke at one of the two bars in Gamagori on March 4.

The male owner of the pub lodged a complaint with police on Friday. “I only hold resentment [for him],” the owner said.

Police said that they plan to investigate the matter on suspicion of disruption of business. “We will strictly crack down on malicious behavior,” a representative of the Gamagori Police Station was quoted.

“I am going to spread the virus”

On the afternoon of March 4, medical personnel sent the man home after he was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.

He was to remain at home until an appropriate medical institution was found for treatment. However, he decided to take a taxi to an izakaya bar. Before departing, he reportedly told a family member, “I am going to spread the virus.”

Afterward, he left the izakaya on foot for the aforementioned Philippine pub, which is hostess-type establishment staffed with women. He entered at around 6:15 p.m.

In the video, which was taken from security camera footage, the man, attired in a gray long-sleeve shirt, is seen receiving an oshibori, or hot towel, upon taking a seat on a sofa.

After thoroughly cleaning his hands, he sings Hound Dog’s “J no Ballad.” He is then shown putting his right arm around the shoulders of a hostess and pulling her close.

“I tested positive”

While he sings a second song, the video shows them holding hands, with her at one point wiping the fingers on his right hand with the towel.

It was around this time that an acquaintance of the man warned the pub about his intention “to spread the virus.” An alarmed staff member approached the man, who confirmed, “I tested positive [for the coronavirus].”

The staff member then alerted the police and a local health center. Officers from the Gamagori Police Station, dressed in protective suits, arrived at the bar only to find that the man had already returned home by taxi.

No symptoms

The man, who showed no symptoms of the disease at the time of the visits to the establishments, was tested since both of his parents, with whom he lives, had been confirmed with the virus.

The female staff member who tested positive is not the same woman shown seated with him in the video. “I was really surprised since she made no contact [with him],” the owner tells Fuji News Network (Mar. 13).

The infected woman, aged in her 30s, was about 10 meters away from him. “Today [March 12], I heard her crying on the telephone. I really have no words. I only hold resentment.”

Prior to entering the establishment, the man reclined on a sofa at the entrance for about two minutes. About 30 minutes later, the woman later confirmed infected sat on the same sofa to apply cosmetics.

Yoshio Otani, the director of the Otani Clinic in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward, suggests that the sofa could have been the source of the infection. “If the surface of the sofa is slippery, the virus could be active for a long time,” Otani tells TV Asahi.