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Japan to halt new entry from around world amid new virus variant
The government will also require all people coming from countries and territories where the new variant, first detected in Britain, is confirmed to submit negative virus test results within 72 hours of departure and undergo tests upon arrival from Wednesday through the end of January.
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People walk through the departures area at the international terminal at Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture on April 7, 2020. - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on April 6 the government plans to declare a state of emergency and proposed a stimulus package worth 1 trillion USD as new coronavirus infections spike in Tokyo and elsewhere. (AFP/CHARLY TRIBALLEAU )
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apan will suspend new entry into the country of non-resident foreign nationals from around the world from Monday through late January as a precautionary step against the new, potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant, the government said Saturday.
The government will also require all people coming from countries and territories where the new variant, first detected in Britain, is confirmed to submit negative virus test results within 72 hours of departure and undergo tests upon arrival from Wednesday through the end of January.
However, businesspeople and students from 10 countries including Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea as well as Taiwan, with which Japan has a special scheme to ease travel restrictions, will not be affected by the suspension policy, the government added.
Read also: EU begins vaccine rollout as new virus strain spreads
Tokyo has already barred entry to foreign nationals who have recently been to Britain and South Africa. Earlier in the day, the government reported two more people have been infected with the variant, with one of them confirmed as the first domestically transmitted case.
Japan will stop the issuance of new visas from Monday. Those who already obtained visas will be allowed to enter the country, but those who were in Britain or South Africa within 14 days of applying for an entry permit will be excluded.
Tokyo had banned entry of people from up to 159 counties and territories at one point amid the pandemic but started on Oct. 1 to conditionally allow entry from people worldwide who plan to stay in the country for more than three months for business and some other purposes.
For those who do not present certifications of the negative virus test results, the government said it will urge them to stay at designated facilities for two weeks.
The two people infected with the variant are hospitalized in Tokyo. They are a pilot in his 30s who returned to Japan from London on Dec. 16 and a woman in her 20s, one of his family members, with no history of visiting the country, the health ministry said.
The man was not subject to quarantine at airports because of his occupation and the woman is believed to have been infected through him. Three people had close contact with the pair and one of them tested negative, while the status of the other two is unknown, according to the ministry.
Read also: Singapore to open business travel bubble for all countries from January
On Friday, the government said five people -- four males and one female all aged under 70 -- had been confirmed as infected with the new variant following their arrival from Britain.
Atsuo Hamada, a professor at Tokyo Medical University, said Japan should take additional anti-virus steps including stronger border control, on the assumption the new variant has already entered the country to some extent.
"Once a highly transmissible variant spreads, the number of infections could surpass 2,000 in a single day in Tokyo, eventually necessitating another state of emergency" over the virus, Hamada warned.
Japan confirmed 3,881 coronavirus cases Saturday, a new record daily tally for the fourth straight day, and 47 deaths as Tokyo and several other prefectures reported the highest numbers of infections at the start of the year-end and New Year holidays.
The nation's cumulative total stood at 219,070.
The capital saw 949 cases on Saturday and its seven-day rolling average of new infections reached 711.4, topping 700 for the first time, according to a tally based on official data.
Osaka confirmed 299 infections on Saturday, while Saitama and Aichi reported 265 cases each.
British health officials have said the new strain, which was first detected in September, could be up to 70 percent more transmissible but there was no evidence of it being deadlier or reducing the effectiveness of vaccines.
The variant has also been confirmed in more than a dozen countries including Australia, France, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Singapore, as well as Hong Kong, according to media reports.
