Japan To Step Up Efforts To Stop Spread Of Variant
Japan's government officials are vowing to step up measures against the coronavirus. This comes after a variant first identified in the UK late last year was found in people with no recent history of overseas travel and no known contact with people infected in Japan.
The health ministry announced on Monday that three people in the central prefecture of Shizuoka had tested positive for the variant...which is believed to be more transmissible than the original one.
The government plans to work with local authorities to identify their infection routes... and step up monitoring to stop the variant from spreading further.
Officials are also trying to work out a schedule for a vaccine rollout.
They want to prioritize healthcare workers and senior citizens.
The plan is to start vaccinating the rest of the population from May at the earliest.
The capital has been under a state of emergency for almost two weeks, along with 10 other prefectures.
A total of 1,274 new cases were reported on Wednesday...topping the 1,000 mark for eight days running.
The number of seriously ill patients hit a record 160.