Japan yesterday announced it would bar all new foreign travelers amid concern over the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, joining a growing list of countries trying to erect virtual fortresses against the heavily mutated new strain.
The move came as the WHO warned that the new variant poses a “very high” risk globally, despite uncertainties about the danger and contagion levels of the strain.
The Japanese government has become the latest country to reinstate strict border controls that many had hoped would be a thing of the past, barring all new foreign arrivals just weeks after announcing it would finally allow some visa holders to enter the country.
Photo: AFP
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the country was “in a stronger position against the Omicron variant than other countries,” citing voluntary mask-wearing and self-restraint about risk behaviors.
The Philippines also said it would temporarily suspend plans to allow fully vaccinated tourists entry, in a bid to prevent the variant taking off in a country where most of the population remains unvaccinated.
Manila had hoped to revive the country’s battered economy by allowing jabbed tourists entry as of tomorrow. The variant is also throwing a tentative opening-up into doubt in Australia, where the government is reconsidering plans to relax border restrictions.
The WHO yesterday said the new strain first discovered in southern Africa was a “highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations ... some of which are concerning and may be associated with immune escape potential and higher transmissibility.”
“The likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high,” WHO cautioned in a technical note.
To date, no deaths connected with the Omicron variant have been reported, it added.
Even if the new variant does not prove more dangerous or deadlier than previous ones, if it spreads more easily, it would spark more cases and more pressure on health systems, and thus more deaths, the UN health agency said.
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