Japan confirms second Omicron infection… Control of entry of nationals (comprehensive 2 steps)

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport asks airlines to suspend ticket sales to Japan until the end of December

(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Park Se-jin = A second case of Omicron, a new mutation of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), has emerged in Japan.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, spokesman for the Japanese government, announced at a press conference on the afternoon of the 1st that the second confirmed case of Omicron was confirmed.

He added that the second infected person who entered through Narita Airport was a man in his 20s who had stayed in Peru and is currently isolated at a medical institution.

Kyodo News reported that the man was a foreigner who arrived from Peru on the 27th of last month, two days earlier than was initially known.

In Japan, it was announced the day before that the first case of infection with Omicron was a Namibian male diplomat in his 30s who arrived at Narita Airport on the 28th of last month.

The diplomat, who arrived at Narita Airport in Japan via Incheon International Airport, tested positive for COVID-19 during the airport quarantine stage, and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan conducted a genome analysis to confirm the infection with Omicron. The diplomat, who boarded a plane from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, got off the plane at Incheon International Airport and stayed at the airport facilities.

The Japanese government is further strengthening entry regulations under the pretext of quarantine in order to respond to the increasing number of foreigners infected with Omicron.

The Japanese government announced on the 2nd that the entry of a Namibian male infected with Omicron will in principle ban foreign nationals from re-entering 10 countries in South Africa, including Namibia.

Re-entry refers to the re-entry of a foreigner who has the qualifications (visa) to stay in Japan.

Minister Matsuno explained, “From a preventive point of view, we have decided to reject not only new entry of foreigners (from the country) but also re-entry of foreigners with residence status for the time being, unless there are special circumstances.”

He plans to continue to ask the international community for understanding, saying it is an “emergency evacuation precaution” in relation to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s concern about a uniform ban on entry from countries where Omicron-infected people came from. said

Earlier, the Japanese government banned the entry of new foreigners from nine South African countries, including South Africa, from the 28th of last month on the grounds of blocking the inflow of Omicron.