Coronavirus: All sumo wrestlers in Japan to undergo antibody tests
Testing will start next week with all results expected to be known by end of June
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Japan Sumo Association will conduct antibody tests, which can show whether a person has ever been infected with the new coronavirus, on all of its about 1,000 members, including sumo wrestlers, referees and yobidashi callers, it was learned Wednesday.
The testing will start early next week, with all results expected to be known by the end of June. It will be the first case of such large-scale antibody testing in the Japanese sports world.
After the declaration of a national state of emergency was extended, the association cancelled this year’s Summer tournament, which had been slated for later this month at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. It now aims to hold the July tournament without spectators while moving the venue from Nagoya to Tokyo. The association intends to use the results of the tests to prepare measures to hold future tournaments by determining the extent of infections in the sumo world.
Antibody tests are designed to examine whether a test taker has a history of infection with viruses or other pathogens. Antibody tests, in which the presence of antibodies can be determined in a short period of time with a small amount of blood, are simpler than polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which require special equipment and take four to six hours to produce results. Antibody tests can play a role in understanding the overall infection situation.
The Washington Post
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments