Japan bans the entry of foreign nationals starting tomorrow. The French authorities have reported the monitoring of eight suspected cases of contagion by omicron
The thirteen cases of covid-19 identified in the footballers of the Portuguese club Belenenses SAD, which for this reason could not get enough players onto the field on Saturday against Benfica, are probably associated with the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, announced on Monday the National Institute of Health.
These are the first cases of this variant detected in Portugal and, according to this public body, one of the footballers recently traveled to South Africa. The match caused great controversy, since it was only interrupted at the beginning of the second half, when the Belenenses SAD team had six players and Benfica won 7-0.
For their part, the French authorities have reported the monitoring of eight suspected cases of contagion by omicron, after the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, acknowledged hours before that the detection of the first case was “a matter of hours.”
«Eight possible cases have been identified in the national territory. The sequencing of samples from these patients is prioritized or in the process of organization to have diagnostic confirmation as soon as possible, “the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The health portfolio has detailed that people who have traveled to the south of the African continent in the last 14 days and who have tested positive for the virus, but having tested negative for any of the previous strains, «will they consider as possible cases of contagion with omicron ».
On the other hand, the authorities have remarked that “as soon as these possible cases were identified (…) reinforced measures were implemented to identify and isolate them.”
This news comes just a few hours after the health minister acknowledged that the detection of the first case of the new variant was “a matter of hours”, since the new strain was already present in other European nations such as Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Austria and the United Kingdom.
Japan closes its borders
The Japanese authorities have decreed that as of this Tuesday, foreign citizens will be prohibited from entering the country. It is a decision aimed at safeguarding the health of the Japanese in the context of the appearance of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
In addition, for Japanese returning to the country from southern African nations “strict quarantine measures will be implemented at designated facilities.” This has been announced by the Prime Minister of Japan, Fuimio Kishida, so that, in this way, the recent flexibility in access to the country’s borders will be suspended, as reported by the Japanese radio television NHK.
This decision comes after Kishida himself has held a meeting with prominent ministers of his cabinet in which they have taken into account that the new strain is already spreading throughout Europe. “Although experts are still in the process of analyzing the virulence and infectivity of omicron strains around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned. It has been designated as a mutant strain, “the prime minister told the media.
It is true that Kishida has valued that Japan has “the highest vaccination rate among the G7” and that the world “praises the cooperation of the people (of Japan) for self-control, including the use of masks.” “I am running the administration thinking that I must be wary of unknown risks. I will accept all the criticisms that I am too cautious, although I still do not understand the situation, “the president has settled, who has also asked for the” understanding “of the citizenry.
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