The Japanese Ministry of Health said on Sunday that a new coronavirus variant had been detected in four travelers from the Amazon state in Brazil. The pandemic virus develops in the last resort.
A ministry official said that the effectiveness of vaccines against the new variant, which differs from highly contagious variants first found in Britain and South Africa, has been investigated, causing an increase in cases has.
“At present, there is no evidence that the new variant found in Brazil is infected,” Takaji Wakita, head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said at a health ministry briefing.
Of the four travelers who arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on January 2, a man in his forties had breathing problems, a woman in her thirties had a headache and sore throat and a man in his teens had a fever, while a woman in her teens showed no symptoms, the health ministry said.
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After Japan saw a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, it declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three prefectures in the capital on Thursday.
Nationwide cases amounted to about 289,000, with 4,061 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said.