Japón anunció este lunes que suspenderá la entrada de todos los visitantes extranjeros de todas partes del mundo, en momentos en que una variante nueva de coronavirus se disemina, haciendo que numerosos países arrecien los controles de sus fronteras.

“Estamos tomando el paso como una precaución de emergencia para prevenir el peor de los casos en Japón”, anunció el primer ministro Fumio Kishida. Agregó que la medida entra en vigor el martes.

La decisión significa que Japón restaurará los controles fronterizos que había levantado este mes para los visitantes de negocios a corto plazo, estudiantes extranjeros y trabajadores.

Kishida llamó a las personas a seguir usando mascarillas y otras medidas básicas antivirus hasta que se conozcan más detalles de la variante ómicron.

Many countries have taken steps to strengthen their border controls, although scientists warned that it is not yet clear if it is more alarming than other versions of the Sars-COV-2 virus.

The Netherlands confirmed on Sunday 13 cases of the new variant, while Canada and Australia found two, the most recent countries to detect it in travelers arriving from southern Africa.

Nations from around the world are imposing restrictions to stop the propagation of the variant: Israel decided on Sunday to ban entrance to foreign citizens, the most radical measure until now, and Morocco suspended all the air arrivals two weeks.

Confirmed or suspect cases of the new variant in several European countries, in Israel and Hong Kong, have already emerged, a few days after being identified by researchers in South Africa. El enfoque de “actuar primero, preguntar después” reflejó una alarma creciente sobre la aparición de una variante potencialmente más contagiosa casi dos años después del estallido de la pandemia de COVID-19 que ha matado a más de 5 millones de personas, trastornado vidas y economías en todo el mundo.

While there is much to learn about the new variant, researchers are concerned that they can be more resistant to vaccines and could mean that pandemic will last more than expected.

In the Netherlands, the health authorities confirmed that until now 13 people who arrived in flights from South Africa on Friday gave positive to omicron.They were among the 61 people who tested positive for the virus on Friday after arriving on the last two flights to the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam before a prohibition of flights was established for countries in southern Africa. Los aislaron de inmediato, la mayoría en un hotel cercano, mientras se realizaba la secuenciación.

The Minister of Health, Hugo de Jonge, declared that he has asked the Council to the Public Health Institute of his country about whether additional travel restrictions are needed, but said he wants to coordinate with his counterparts of the European Union because “I think those areReally the steps we will have to take together ".

Australia authorities said two foreign travelers who arrived in Sydney from Africa became the first in the country to positive for the omicron variant.Now those arriving from nine African countries must be put in quarantine in a hotel upon arrival.

The Canada Ministry of Health said the first two cases of the omicron variant in the country in Ontario were found, after two people who had recently traveled to Nigeria threw positive.