Japan suspends all foreign arrivals due to British variant

Japan is also lifting the 14-day quarantine exemption for Japanese citizens and foreigners residing in a short-term program that began in November. Participants must now carry proof of a negative test 72 hours before departure to Japan and isolate themselves for two weeks after arrival.

Japan has been fighting the increase in cases since November. He confirmed a total of 217,312 cases, including 3,213 deaths, an increase of 3,700 over the previous 24-hour period. Tokyo alone reported 949 cases, setting a new record, despite calls from experts and government officials for people to spend a “peaceful” vacation season.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region:

– South Korea decided not to immediately apply its stricter spacing rules in the Seoul metropolitan area, despite the increase in coronavirus cases there. The area is currently under the second largest distance rule. There have been calls to raise restrictions to the highest level, but the government is reluctant to do so because of concerns about the economy. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said on Sunday that the government will maintain current restrictions in the Seoul area until January 3. He said the third highest level of distance rules imposed in other regions will also remain in effect until January 3. Kwon said South Korea recorded an average of 999 new cases per day last week, with 690 of them in the Seoul area. Under current rules, nightclubs, karaoke rooms, gyms, gyms and courses in the Seoul area have suspended operations. As additional measures, the authorities last week banned social gatherings of more than five people and ordered the closure of ski resorts and other sights. The stricter restrictions would shut down hundreds of thousands of other companies and require all non-essential employees to work from home. South Korea reported 56,872 cases in total, including 808 deaths.

– Beijing officials reported five new cases of locally transmitted coronavirus, while authorities rushed to test mass residents. The five cases, linked to previous infections, lived in the city’s Shunyi district, which has since activated an emergency response plan, including mass testing, source tracking and disinfection. On Saturday at noon, more than 120,000 had been tested for coronavirus. The authorities plan to test 800,000 people in the district. Separately, authorities reported four cases transmitted locally in the northeastern port city of Dalia, where more than 4.75 million people were tested after more than 20 confirmed cases this month. China has reported 22 new cases in the past 24 hours, including 10 imported and 12 domestic. China has so far reported a total of 86,955 cases, with 4,634 deaths.