
Japan’s Princess Yoko has been hospitalised with COVID-19.
The Imperial Household Agency confirmed the Princess’s diagnosis and hospitalisation on 8 February. The 38-year-old royal is the first member of the Imperial Family to contract COVID-19.
The Princess tested positive on 8 February after complaining of a sore throat the previous day.
Princess Yoko was admitted to a hospital inside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Yoko was in contact with her older sister, Princess Akiko, a few days ago. Akiko, 40, will also be tested as a close contact.
None of the royal’s staff has tested positive.
The Imperial Household Agency said how she contracted the virus is unknown and that she has not attended any events recently with food and drinks. She did attend a memorial ceremony for a late Emperor on 30 January.
Princess Yoko is the daughter of the late Prince Tomohito and his wife, Princess Nobuko. She has one older sister, Princess Akiko. Her father died from cancer in 2012. He was 66.