Japanese health authorities have not yet detected any cases of the new coronavirus strain, which had been found in the UK, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Monday
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2020) Japanese health authorities have not yet detected any cases of the new coronavirus strain, which had been found in the UK, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Monday.
On Saturday, UK health officials said they had identified a new variant of the coronavirus that is 70 percent more transmissible than other Sars-Cov-2 virus strains.
"According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, [the new coronavirus strain]�has not yet been confirmed within the country," Kato said during a press conference.
The UK government effectively locked down parts of the country, including London, after admitting that more than half of all new COVID-19 cases had been caused by the new strain, which infects more easily but does not appear to be more deadly or� pose any threats to new vaccines.
Following news about the virus mutation, countries in the EU and beyond began to close borders and suspend travel with the United Kingdom to prevent the spread of the new strain. However, the mutated virus has already been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark, South Africa, and Australia.
Tokyo has not yet made any official announcement on the disruption of air travel with London.
To date, Japan has confirmed 199,270 COVID-19 infections with the death toll at 2,784.
