Japan Bans Entry of All Foreign Visitors After New Coronavirus Variant Detected

Dec. 27—The government has announced a temporary ban on the entry of foreign visitors from all over the world, after infections with a new variant of the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Japan. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Saturday that a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s, both residents of Tokyo, were found to have the mutant strain, which has been spreading in Britain. The man was an airline pilot returning from Britain who was not tested at an airport. The woman is believed to have contracted the virus from him. This is the first time that person-to-person transmission of the mutant strain of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Japan. Given the situation, the government said the entry of foreign nationals from all countries and regions would be suspended from Dec. 28 to the end of January. Entry from Britain and South Africa, where new variants have spread, was already banned, but the government will expand the prohibition to cover all countries and regions. According to the health ministry, the man who was confirmed to have the mutant strain returned to Japan on Dec. 16. He went home without being tested, as pilots are not subject to such checks at airport quarantine centers as long as they fulfill certain conditions, such as monitoring their health after returning Japan. On Dec. 21, the man complained of coughing and headaches and went to a medical facility in Tokyo where he tested positive. The woman is a family member of the man's, has no history of travel to Britain and displayed such symptoms as coughing, according to sources. The two have been hospitalized at a medical facility in Tokyo since Thursday. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases found Saturday that the two people were infected with a variant of the same type as that found in Britain. Five other cases of the mutant variant were confirmed Friday in Japan, in four male and one female who had returned from Britain and tested positive at airport quarantine centers. As part of measures to ease restrictions on cross-border travel, the government had allowed entry in certain cases since October of some foreign nationals, such as students and people based in Japan. In response to the spread of the mutant strain, this exceptional measure had been suspended for Britain and South Africa. Since November, Japanese nationals returning from short-term overseas business trips were exempted from 14 days of quarantine after returning to Japan, as were foreign nationals living in Japan and seeking reentry into the nation. These exemptions will also be suspended, with such people required to self-isolate at hotels or at home. Travelers returning from countries that have announced the discovery of new virus variants will be required to provide certification of a negative coronavirus test result conducted within 72 hours before leaving those countries.

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