TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) Japan's first cases of the so-called UK strain of the coronavirus were detected in citizens who have never been to the United Kingdom, the Japanese Ministry of Health said on Monday.
The health officials said during a press conference, which was broadcast by the NHK public broadcaster, that the cases were recorded in the Shizuoka prefecture among people aged between 20 and 70.
None of the infected patients have ever been to the European island nation, however, they may have been in contact with those who have. The matter is being investigated.
Several new mutated COVID-19 strains have been reported across the globe over recent weeks. In mid-December, the UK government reported that a new variant of the disease, which is believed to be up to 70 percent more transmissible, was discovered in southeast England.
Other variants have been discovered in South Africa and Brazil, raising fears over vaccine efficacy.
