LESS THAN 1% OF JAPANESE IN 5 PREFECTURES HAVE COVID ANTIBODIES

Less than 1% of people in five prefectures across Japan were found to have coronavirus antibodies in tests conducted at the end of 2020 by the health ministry on a total of about 15,000 individuals, Hidenori Yazawa reported for Mainichi Shimbun.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare broke down the results of their tests by prefecture, with 0.91% of people in Tokyo testing positive for antibodies, 0.58% in Osaka, 0.14% in Miyagi, 0.54% in Aichi and 0.19% in Fukuoka.

At a press conference, health minister Norihisa Tamura said, "Although there are differences between each prefectural government, all of them had results lower than 1%. This is not herd immunity, so I ask people to continue providing their cooperation against infections."

The tests were conducted from Dec. 14 to 25, 2020, with each of the five participating prefectures choosing around 3,000 people at random as samples.

Authorities used two different testing methods approved for use in emergencies by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Individuals testing positive under both methods were recorded as positive in the final results.

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