Another strain of Covid-19 found in Japan

Posted On January 11, 2021 - Updated 11 January, 2021 11:58am

Japanese authorities have confirmed that they have found another strain of Covid-19 in four tourists who travelled from Brazil.

The Head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Takaji Wakita said that an intensive study is being carried out to determine whether the vaccine will be effective against this new strain.

He said that to date nothing indicates that this strain spreads more quickly, like the ones which broke out in the UK and Africa. From research which has been carried out, it was found that the strain has 12 mutations, one of which was also present in the UK strain.

The four tourists who were found to be carrying the new strain as soon as they arrived at the airport are a man, aged 40, who was having trouble breathing, a 30-year-old woman with a headache and a sore throat, a young man with fever and a young woman who had no symptoms.

The authorities declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding areas after cases started increasing.

Brazil on the other hand is experiencing the second wave of Covid-19 with an average of 50,000 new cases daily, which also includes an outbreak of the UK strain.

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