SAITAMA (TR) – Prosecutors have announced the non-prosecution of a man who visited a public bath after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, reports Jiji Press (Dec. 23).
On July 31, the man, aged in his 40s, visited the public bath in Kawagoe City. He later said that he entered the facility “to take a shower,” the Saitama Prefectural Government previously said.
Police later confirmed that he had not been in close contact with anyone at the facility. On December 2, police accused him of disruption of business due to the facility being forced to disinfect the premises.
On Wednesday, prosecutors with the Saitama District Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the non-prosecution of the man. No reason for the non-prosecution was given.
Took a taxi home
The man, whose name was not revealed out of privacy since contracted the coronavirus, lives in Kasukabe City. He tested positive for the coronavirus on July 16 after suffering from a fever. He then entered a hospital in Hanyu City.
At around 9:30 p.m. on July 30, he fled the hospital by posing as a visitor despite experiencing severe symptoms. He then took a taxi to his residence.
The prefectural government said that the man used his own car to drive to the bath the next day. At some point, he also went to his office.
“My company’s performance would suffer”
About 30 minutes after he fled the hospital, a staff member reported him missing with police. Later on July 31, officers found the man’s vehicle in the bath facility’s parking lot.
Through early August, the public bath received about 300 complaints from residents. “Why was he allowed to enter the bath?” one said.
“If I didn’t go to work, my company’s performance would suffer,” the man was quoted by the prefectural government.
