Photo/Illutration Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka, left, holds a news conference on Feb. 15 about coronavirus infections at a hospital in the prefecture. (Taku Hosokawa)

WAKAYAMA--Three new cases of coronavirus were confirmed Feb. 15 at a hospital here where a surgeon and a patient earlier tested positive for infection.

The new infections resulted from them coming into contact with the fiftysomething infected surgeon, prefectural authorities said.

They said another doctor at Saiseikai Arida Hospital, as well as his wife and an in-patient, had also tested positive for the coronavirus.

A man in his 70s who at one time was hospitalized at the facility was confirmed the previous day to have the coronavirus. The latest announcement brings the number of infections at the hospital to five.

According to Wakayama prefectural authorities, the second doctor, also in his 50s, developed a fever and cough on Feb. 4. The man was diagnosed with pneumonia on Feb. 10. During that period, he worked a total of five days.

His wife developed a slight fever on Feb. 7. By Feb. 14, it had grown more severe.

The couple are now hospitalized at a different facility and in stable condition.

The patient in his 60s checked into the surgery department of Saiseikai Arida Hospital on Feb. 8 and was diagnosed with pneumonia two days later. The man had been in close contact with one of the two doctors who were found to be infected. The patient is not in serious condition.

At a Feb. 15 news conference, Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka said the surgeon triggered the other infections.

Two patients treated at the hospital for pneumonia were found to not have the coronavirus.

One of them was a man in his 60s who is resting at home. The other is a woman in her 70s who has been admitted to another hospital.

Four individuals who were in close contact with the surgeon, including his family, all tested negative for the coronavirus.

Nisaka said the negative results indicate that the coronavirus has not spread widely in the prefecture. But he said doctors, nurses and in-patients in the prefecture would continue to be tested for infection.

In a related development, Osaka prefectural authorities said Feb. 15 that the surgeon at Saiseikai Arida Hospital also worked on a part-time basis once a week at a hospital near Kansai International Airport.

While Osaka officials did not divulge the days and hours the surgeon worked at the Saiseikai Shin-Sennan Hospital, they said hospital staff who came into contact with the surgeon had been asked to refrain from working from Feb. 15.

The hospital is located about 6.5 kilometers south of Kansai International Airport. One hospital worker who had contact with the surgeon was tested after developing respiratory problems, but the result was negative.

Osaka prefectural officials were informed by the Wakayama authorities on Feb. 14 that the infected surgeon also worked at the Shin-Sennan Hospital and asked for a list of those who were in close contact with him.

The public health office at Izumisano has begun compiling a list of hospital staff and patients who had contact with the surgeon. While hospital staff have been identified, Osaka officials are still trying to determine all the patients the surgeon came into contact with.

(This article was compiled from reports by Daisuke Hatano and Yuka Honda.)

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