Japan considers further border controls over omicron variant
Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida said on Monday, his country would consider further tightening its borders as the newly discovered Omicron coronavirus variant spreads around the world.
According to Kishida, “The government will announce the measures at the appropriate time without providing further details.”
Japan has already tightened entry rules on travellers who have recently been to any of nine African countries Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe requiring them to spend 10 days in a government-designated facility upon their arrival.
The WHO has named the strain a variant of concern,warning it has a large number of mutations that mean it may be highly transmissible and pose an increased risk of reinfection to people who have previously caught the coronavirus.
Kishida said, “The government will carry on with its plan to begin administering booster shots next month while looking to health experts to provide additional data.”
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