14th July, 2020
Tokyo health officials on Tuesday appealed for more than 800 theatregoers to get tested for the novel coronavirus to trace the source of a new outbreak.
Contact-tracing became a necessity after a production starring Japanese boy-band members was found to be the source of at least 20 cases.
Tokyo government said it was focussing on a 190-seat theatre in the Shinjuku entertainment district, where infections have also been traced to cabaret clubs.
The latest cluster has been traced to Theatre Moliere, near Tokyo’s red-light district, which staged a play for six days starring mainly up-and-coming boy-band members earlier this month.
According to the government, it learnt of the first infection among a cast member on July 6, after which testing found 20 related cases by late Monday. It called on all audience members who attended the performance to get tested.
The producers of the play, “Werewolf”, released a statement on Monday also asking audience members to seek health advice.
“Following a large number of infections seen among our spectators, we have been informed that all 800 spectators who came to see the performance have been identified as high-risk contacts,” Rise Communications said on its website.
However, Japan is pushing ahead with opening up parts of the country, even as infections persist in major cities, rural areas and U.S. military bases.