It’s Senga.

Everyone, I’m sorry for making you all worry!

I’m returning to work today!

I’m going to start with doing the work that I was unable to do during my recuperation at home.

I’m going to do my best to catch up to the other members!

I’m really thankful to be able to return to work so quickly!

I’m going to keep working hard so that I can continue to inspire you and make you smile, so please keep supporting me!

Until next time.

Hello, it’s Senga.

I’m currently recuperating at home, but I’ve been given media work.

I’ve uploaded a video onto Johnny’s Official YouTube Channel talking about some of my symptoms of COVID-19 in my own way.

It would be great if the video could become a hint to help you notice if things are even a little off and realize if there is a possibility that you may have COVID-19.

I’ve recorded the video in a way that even people who are symptomless will also have this hint somewhere in the back of their minds.

I was myself in the video, so personally it’s a little embarrassing to let you all see the video, but it contains important information that I want to spread to as many people as possible.

Please watch it whenever you have time.

Until next time.

It’s Senga.

I think some of you may have seen the news already, but I’ve been infected with Covid-19.

I feel terrible for causing so much trouble and for worrying all of you.

I’m really sorry.

My temperature is normal at 36.8 degrees Celsius!

But my throat feels odd and I can’t smell anything at all.

Even if I eat Caesar salad, I can’t taste the dressing. It’s just sour.

What did it taste like again?

Oh, right. Old man sweat.

It’s to the point where I think things like this, so it’s really inconvenient.

This is what I’ve realized after experiencing it for myself:

Even if you think that you do not have Covid yourself, there’s a possibility that you’ve already been infected.

The reason why is because other than a sore throat, everything else had been basically normal.

When I took a PCR test in that state, it came back negative.

When my throat started to feel strange, I myself was convinced that I had Covid-19, so I thought that it was odd. If it wasn’t Covid-19, could it possibly be a different illness?

Thinking that way, I started endlessly looking things up on the internet.

When I did that, I found that there could be “false negatives,” where the PCR test results come back negative even if you’ve already been infected with Covid.

I was in a situation where I had to be on a live show called, “Switch!!” in Nagoya first thing the next morning.

I had tested negative, so I had no other choice than to explain that I myself still believed I had Covid-19 even though I had no proof.

It was a really weird experience.

I explained that even though I had already tested negative, there was a high possibility that it had been a false negative, so I wanted to get tested again.

To put it another way, it was a situation that probably looked like I was a child that didn’t want to go to school.

Well, it’s fine to let it be like that.

After that, I apologized whole-heartedly to the people involved in the show and went to get my second PCR test done.

The results of that 2nd test came back positive.

If I had headed to Nagoya and appeared on “Switch!!” because my results had come back negative at that time, how many more people would I have infected? I’m horrified just thinking about it.

We work as a group.

I think in each of your companies as well, an organization exists. And in that organization, you may have comrades, or “groups”.

If I suspect that I have Covid, I could immediately tell the other 6 honestly, withdraw from working together, and ask for help.

Or, I could continue to work with the excuse that my results were negative because other than a sore throat, I felt fine.

There were 2 choices. There was no manual to tell me what to do in my head, so I had to make a decision.

If I had chosen the second option, it wouldn’t have just affected me. I could have passed it on to the staff, my co-stars, or the other members.

In conclusion, I want a lot of people to understand and be aware that false negatives exist and that if a person loses their sense of taste or their throat hurts, there is a high chance that they could be infected even if they tested negative for it.

A PCR test isn’t just something that you can get done right away and it’s said that they’re only accurate 70% of the time, so to be honest, I don’t think you can be certain of the results unless you take it twice.

In addition to that, there aren’t many other illness that have a sore throat and loss of taste as symptoms to this degree, so assume that it’s Covid. Once you suspect that you have it, I recommend that you stay home.

Also, get a PCR test done if possible to confirm.

To those who are worried about me, rest assured that I’m fine.

As soon as I’ve recuperated, I will go to see you all again, so please wait for me.

Until next time.