World News | Japan Confirms Cases of New Coronavirus Variant
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Japan's health ministry has confirmed the country's first cases of infection with the new variant of the coronavirus that was identified in Britain.
Tokyo, Dec 25 (AP) Japan's health ministry has confirmed the country's first cases of infection with the new variant of the coronavirus that was identified in Britain.
The five people arrived between December 18 and December 21, before Japan stepped up border control on Friday for entrants from Britain. A man in his 60s developed fatigue, but the other four were without symptoms.
Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said the five were sent to quarantine straight from the airports.
After they tested positive for the virus, further analysis conducted at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases determined they had the British variant that is 70 per cent more transmissible, the ministry said in a statement.
Shigeru Omi, head of a government taskforce, called for tighter border control to prevent new variants. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)