Five cases of the new UK-spreading coronavirus variant have been detected in Japan, with Russia the latest country to impose tougher quarantine on British travelers.
Japan has avoided the high numbers of diseases seen in countries from the US to Europe, but things are rising sharply with daily numbers exceeding 3,000 for the first time on the this month.
The five people with the more portable form of Covid-19 had all recently arrived from the UK. They have been quarantined, Japanese media have reported, and health officials are trying to trace their connections and possible routes of infection.
Japan has already banned travelers from the UK, as well as returning Japanese nationals and residents.
The new variant has brought tighter travel controls around the world. Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, have temporarily closed their borders. Dozens of others from El Salvador to Finland have also banned travelers from the UK or those of British nationality.
Matters
Where it is still possible to travel it is more likely to come with tighter controls. Russia introduced two-week compulsory quarantine for British nationals, Interfax news agency said, after earlier cancellations of flights to and from the country.
Japan plans to start a vaccination program in the new year. The country of 126 million people has reached contracts to buy 290m vaccine doses from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna – enough for 145 million people.
But none of them have been agreed with its regulators, so for now Japanese authorities are still fighting to control the spread.
The Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, urged people to stay at home for a new year, an extended national holiday, when people traditionally travel to see friends and relatives across the country.
The new variant, which has relied on parts of the UK being thrown into restriction levels near Christmas, has already been discovered from Australia – despite very tight border controls – to the Denmark.
A second highly invasive version of coronavirus, which is spreading in South Africa, has also arrived in the UK. Scientists believe it could hit younger people harder and be a little more resistant to vaccines.
However, research still confirms the risk with the variant, which does not show worse symptoms or requires different treatment.
There are also some fears that South Africa ‘s most diverse individual mutations could enable people who have contracted the virus to recover and recover from it.