Coronavirus: Japan discovers community cases of Omicron variant; South Koreans protest against restrictions; India bans Christmas
- The world’s third-largest economy has tightened up border restrictions and promised to speed up booster shots
- Australia’s leader Scott Morrison says hospitals are coping well with the Covid-19 surge. More countries are looking to shorten the time between second vaccination shots and boosters
Japan reported on Wednesday its first instance of community spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Health minister Shigeyuki Goto said three Omicron infections in the prefecture of Osaka were a cases of community transfer because the infection route was not clear.
The cases are from the same family and none of the people travelled abroad, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told a coronavirus policy meeting on Wednesday.
“I believe this counts as a case of community transfer. I think this will become the first in Osaka prefecture, and the first in the country,” Yoshimura said.
As Omicron fears grow, the world’s third-largest economy has tightened up border restrictions and promised to speed up booster shots.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday said its Covid-19 border controls, some of the strictest in the world, would remain in place for the time being.
Japan has had 1.73 million coronavirus infections and 18,391 deaths since the pandemic began, but the rate of new infections has been falling.
South Korean business groups protest new curbs
In South Korea, rising cases have forced authorities to announce restrictions on gatherings and operating times for restaurants, cafes and bars.