With numbers of COVID-19 cases in Tokyo on the rise — including a record 888 new infections reported Thursday in the city — many planning visits home for the New Year's holidays are hoping to take precautions before they go, in turn generating a surge in demand for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at facilities run by private institutions in the capital.
But the health ministry is warning that such unofficial testing comes with pitfalls, citing the possibility of false results, both positive and negative, as well as the absence of any obligation for operators to report positive results to municipalities.
On Wednesday morning, visitors were queuing up to get tested at one such facility in Tokyo.