Tokyo, Dec. 6 (BNA): Japan on Monday confirmed its third case of the new omicron – a traveler from Italy – as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged strict measures based on the worst-case scenario of a possible resurgence. infection, the AP reports.
Japan has seen a sharp decline in daily COVID-19 cases since September. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the third confirmed case of the Omicron strain of a man in his 30s tested positive upon arrival from Italy at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Dec. 1, and has since been isolated.
Kishida said in a political speech to parliament that he does not take a risk after previous criticism that Japan has been too lax on anti-virus measures.
Authorities have already confirmed two cases of the omicron variant for travelers who arrived in Japan in late November – prompting the Kishida government to ask international airlines to stop making new bookings, before quickly withdrawing the request after facing heavy criticism for going too far.
Japan has effectively banned all foreign arrivals as an emergency precaution. Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry also announced on Monday that a visit by a UN nuclear agency team to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in mid-December has been postponed until next year due to new concerns.
The team had to assess preparations before the 2023 release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked plant into the sea.
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