A new variant of the coronavirus has been detected in four travelers from the state of Amazonas, Brazil, the Ministry of Health of Japan said on Sunday.
A ministry official said studies were underway on the effectiveness of vaccines against the new variant, which differs from the highly infectious variants found for the first time in Britain and South Africa, which have generated an increase in cases.
“At the moment, there is no evidence that the new variant found in Brazilians is rich in infectious diseases,” said Takaji Wakita, head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, in a statement from the Ministry of Health.
Of the four travelers who arrived at Tokyo Haneda Airport on January 2, a man in his 40s had trouble breathing, a woman in her 30s had a sore head and throat and a man in his teens had a fever, while a woman in her teens had no symptoms, said the ministry of health.
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After seeing a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, Japan declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three prefectures neighboring the capital on Thursday.
Cases across the country totaled about 289,000, with 4,061 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said.