TOKYO -- Japan will ban entry from all countries to prevent the spread of the more contagious U.K. strain of the coronavirus, the government announced Saturday.
The ban will be in effect from Monday through the end of January. Japanese nationals and foreigners living in Japan will be permitted to return to the country.
As of Friday, five people who traveled from Britain had been confirmed as infected with the new strain, according to the government.
Since October, Japan has allowed entry by those staying for at least three months on the condition that they quarantine for 14 days. Following the emergence of the new strain, the government dropped the U.K. from the list on Thursday, and South Africa on Saturday. Now the issuance of long-term visas will be suspended for all nationals.
A 14-day quarantine request will apply to all Japanese returning from abroad.
Prior to making the decision, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga discussed a response to the detection of the new strain with health ministry officials for about 20 minutes.
Suga had signaled on Friday that he would issue new measures to contain the spread of the new strain.
Besides the U.K., the new strain has been detected in Italy, the Netherland, Denmark, Australia and Germany. The variant is said to be 70% more contagious than the original strain but does not believe to make people sicker.
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December 26, 2020 at 08:19PM
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Japan bans entry from all countries to block new strain's spread - Nikkei Asia
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