By NAOKI KIKUCHI/ Staff Writer
May 31, 2021 at 17:35 JST
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato holds a news conference at the prime minister’s office on May 31. (Koichi Ueda)
A new hybrid strain of COVID-19 first detected in Vietnam and considered more transmissible when airborne than other variants has not yet been found in Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference on May 31.
Cases of patients confirmed to be infected with the highly contagious hybrid of Indian and British variants have been found in Vietnam, according to local media reports.
About the necessity to strengthen border controls on entrants from Vietnam, Kato said, “As we fully grasp the infection situation in each country, we would like to implement necessary measures flexibly and promptly to alleviate people’s anxiety.”
The Japanese government is currently beefing up border controls on travelers arriving from six southern Asian countries, including India, to prevent the Indian COVID-19 variant from pouring into the country. The other countries are Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Arrivals from the six countries who have residency status in Japan are not allowed to re-enter, in principle, while even Japanese returning home have to stay at accommodation facilities designated by the quarantine station for 10 days and undergo more novel coronavirus tests.
Currently, entrants from Vietnam are free from such strict regulations.
Vietnam in talks to ease entry for visitors from China, S. Korea, Japan
June 19, 2020
Vietnam’s Communists tout pandemic, economic successes at Party congress
January 26, 2021
Japan eyes eased travel curbs for Taiwan, South Korea and China
July 1, 2020
Vietnam to resume some Asian flights as curbs on business travel ease
September 3, 2020
Eased entry eyed for travelers from Australia, 3 other countries
June 1, 2020
Amnesty: Hackers attacking Vietnamese dissidents
February 24, 2021
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