
Japan on Monday detected the new UK variant of coronavirus among three people. The Health Ministry reported that none of them had any travel history to the UK.
The variant in question is considered more infectious, if not more fatal, and is now spreading across different parts of the world. Many countries are still reeling from the first variant of the virus which first emerged in December 2019.
The three patients aged between 20-60 are situated in the Shizuoka prefecture, which lies about 200 kilometres west of Tokyo. They first developed symptoms in early January, the ministry said.
The ministry claims that it is trying to ascertain how they became infected with the virus without travelling to the country. They, however added that till now there’s no evidence of the new variant spreading in Shizuoka.
So far, Japan has recorded 45 cases of the new variants of the virus which were reported in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil.
Japan had earlier announced a state of emergency for Tokyo, but soon after a spike the country extended it to seven more prefectures in a bid to limit the spread of the virus.
In total, the country has recorded 335,000 cases of COVID-19, which has killed 4,500 people, according to the state broadcaster NHK.
On January 13, the World Health Organization said the new variant from the United Kingdom is currently in 50 countries across the globe, while the one from South Africa is making rounds in 20 countries. The organisation added that another variant from Japan remains of concern, and that it needed more investigation.