Japan reports five cases of coronavirus

TOKYO: Five cases of the new coronavirus variant spreading fast across the UK have been found in Japan, and Russia has become the latest country to impose stricter quarantine on travellers from Britain.

Japan has avoided the huge infection numbers seen in countries from the US to Europe, but cases are rising sharply and daily numbers passed 3,000 for the first time this month. The five people infected with the more highly transmissible form of Covid-19 had all recently arrived from the UK. They have been quarantined, Japanese media reported, and health officials are trying to trace their contacts and possible routes of infection.

Japan has already banned entry to travellers from the UK, apart from returning Japanese nationals and residents. The new variant has brought tighter travel controls around the world. Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, have temporarily closed their borders entirely. Dozens of others from El Salvador to Finland have also blocked travellers from the UK or those with British nationality.