A man in his 40s arrived at Tokyo's Haneda airport from the West African country of Liberia via London on Monday is being tested for Ebola, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said.
The man, who had a fever of 37.8 degrees Celsius when he arrived at the airport, was transported to the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in central Tokyo for testing, the health ministry said. It also said a sample of his blood was sent to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. Test results will be available early Tuesday, according to the ministry.
"Ebola is not an airborne virus, and it is only transmitted by direct contact with an Ebola patient. The man was hospitalized as a precautionary measure," Shiozaki told a press conference, urging the people to remain calm.
According to public broadcaster NHK, the man, a 45-year-old journalist, stayed in the West African country of Liberia for two months through October 18 and visited Belgium and Britain before arriving in Tokyo.
Last Friday, the health ministry began checking all travelers entering Japan at quarantine stations. Officials are looking for those who stayed in any of four African nations suffering Ebola outbreaks within the previous three weeks.