False: A nurse who tested positive for the new coronavirus is at the source of a massive hospital-associated infection (HAI) outbreak

According to Chinese mini-blog Weibo, which quoted a report by Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi around the end of April, 120 people were infected in two days in a large-scale hospital-associated infection (HAI) outbreak in Osaka due to a nurse who tested positive for covid-19 and who was forced to continue to work at her hospital. The Chinese mini-blog Weibo quoted a report by TV Asahi, a Japanese broadcast media. However, the Chinese mini-blog misquoted TV Asahi. 

TV Asahi reported that there had indeed been 122 hospital-associated infections at this hospital and that a nurse had continued to work there even after her PCR tests proved positive. However, it did not report that this nurse was the cause of the infections.

According to data from the Osaka government, it is true that a large-scale hospital-associated infection occurred and a total of 120 people had been infected in this hospital until April 22, but it is not true that 120 people were found to have been infected in two days. It is also unclear whether the nurse who tested positive was the source of the infection. Therefore, the information on Weibo is considered to be false.

The original fact-checking report in Japanese is here.

(Ya Jung Chih)

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