Japan will ban entry of foreigners in response to Omicron edition

In response to the Omicron coronavirus version, Japan will bar newly arrived foreigners such as business travelers from entering the country starting Tuesday.

The government said on Monday that Japanese citizens and foreign residents of Japan returning from foreign trips would still be allowed to enter the country.

It said returnees from nine countries in southern Africa and 14 other countries and territories where omicron cases were confirmed will face strict quarantine.

“This is an emergency, preventive measure to avoid a worst-case scenario,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. He said the moves were temporary until the risks of the Omicron variant became clear.

The decision comes just weeks after the country cautiously reopened its border to business travelers, foreign workers and students, responding to calls from companies that feared falling behind the West.

On Friday, even before the World Health Organization announced Omicron was classified as a type of concern, the Japanese government said that all travelers arriving in Japan from six countries, including South Africa, should be provided with government-designated hotels or other accommodation facilities. Will need to spend 10 days in And undergo testing every few days. Later three more countries were added to the list.

Japan has reported relatively few Covid-19 cases after a recent summer spike. For the past few weeks, less than two hundred cases have been reported a day, the lowest level in more than a year. About 80% of the population is fully vaccinated.