The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says about 20 percent of people confirmed infected with the new coronavirus in recent months were asymptomatic when they tested positive.
The Tokyo government studied 51,848 people who tested positive for the coronavirus between November and January 15.
Among them, 19.9 percent, or 10,315 people, had no symptoms when the results came out.
Less than 17 percent of people in their 20s and 30s were asymptomatic. The ratio of those without symptoms is higher among the elderly. Nearly 21 percent of people in their 60s, nearly 22 percent in their 70s and 24 percent in their 80s showed no symptoms.
An official of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government stresses the need to prevent infections from people with no symptoms. He urges people to take full measures to protect themselves from infection, recognizing that not only young people, but also those in a wide range of age groups may be infected even if they have no symptoms.
The official added that facilities for the elderly with links to infected people should conduct tests promptly to identify asymptomatic carriers who may be inadvertently spreading the virus.
