Limited Virus Testing in Japan Masks True Scale of Infection
- Health minister admits some suspected cases refused testing
- More cruise passengers test positive after going home
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Japan is becoming a center of concern as the coronavirus spreads globally, with the country’s official infection tally suspected to be the tip of the iceberg of a much wider outbreak.
As of Friday, Japan had about 200 confirmed cases of the pneumonia-causing virus, excluding those that erupted on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship quarantined for weeks in Yokohama harbor. In neighboring South Korea, however, the number of infections has swelled rapidly, topping 2,000 after the government tested tens of thousands of people to get a clearer picture of the deadly outbreak.