TOKYO: A total of 197 people quarantined since returning to Japan on January 29 from Wuhan, China, on the first of four chartered flights are set to go home by Thursday.

Japan's health ministry said Wednesday that all of the returnees on the first flight have been cleared of the new coronavirus after second tests.

Of them, 176 are staying at a hotel in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, and the remaining 21 at facilities of the National Tax College in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, according to the ministry.

The ministry collected samples from the 197 people on Tuesday for second virus checks at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and has notified them of the results as requested.

The four government-chartered flights have so far brought back to Japan a total of 763 people, including family members with Chinese nationality. Of them, 12, including three exhibiting no symptoms, have tested positive for the virus.

The ministry has asked the returnees to stay at government-designated facilities for up to 12.5 days even if they test negative for the virus.

On Wednesday, the ministry started conducting second virus checks on those who returned to Japan on the second chartered plane. The results are due out as early as Thursday.

JIJI Press