New virus variant found in Japan

A new coronavirus variant has been found in four passengers who flew into the airport. © Reuters

TOKYO -- A new variant of the virus behind COVID-19 has been detected in Japan, the country's Health Ministry announced on Sunday. It was found in four people -- male and female, ranging from their teens to their 40s -- who arrived from Brazil. While there are similarities to strains first reported in the U.K. and South Africa, this particular type does not appear to have been spotted before. This brings to 34 the number of confirmed infections from a variant strain in Japan. Of these, three are cases in which the person did not arrive from overseas, including two cases of the U.K. strain found on Sunday. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has reported the new variant to the World Health Organization.