Japan’s borders have been virtually closed during most of the pandemic. (Represent)
Tokyo:
Japan has asked airlines to stop accepting new arrival flight reservations due to concerns about the Omicron virus variant, the Transport Ministry said on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as authorities announced they had detected a second infection with the new strain of the bacteria in a newly arrived traveler, a day after confirming the first case.
“We have asked airlines to stop taking all new arrival flight bookings for a month from December 1,” a Transport Ministry official told AFP, adding that the bookings Existing space will not be affected.
The Japanese government has tightened tough border measures, banning the entry of all non-citizens from 10 South African countries.
Quarantine measures have also been strengthened for foreign nationals and residents from dozens of other countries and regions because of virus concerns.
Japanese officials said the second case of Omicron was confirmed on Wednesday in a traveler from Peru who entered the country last month.
The first case, announced Tuesday, involves a man from Namibia.
Japan’s borders have been virtually closed for most of the pandemic, with residents even barred from entering for part of 2020.
The border measures are a key part of the country’s Covid response, unrelated to the tough lockdowns seen in some parts of the world.
After the number of cases spiked over the summer, Japan recorded only double-digit infections nationwide most days, and has recorded about 18,360 deaths during the pandemic.
About 77 percent of the country’s population is now fully vaccinated, and booster shots began on Wednesday for people who received a second dose at least eight months ago.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
