Kishida: we are considering further border controls over omicron variant

SANAA, Nov. 29 (YPA) – Japan is considering further border controls to prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday.

“We are taking action and we have a strong sense of crisis,” Kishida told reporters.

He noted that Japan had closed its borders to foreigners from nine countries, including South Africa, until Sunday.

The Japanese Prime Minister noted that his Government would announce a decision on that crisis in due course.

Concerns are growing over the Omicron variant, which was first reported to the World Health Organization by South Africa last week and has since been confirmed in several European countries and Canada.

The WHO has named the strain a “variant of concern,” warning it has a large number of mutations that mean it may be highly transmissible and pose an increased risk of reinfection to people who have previously caught the coronavirus.

E.M