Japan confirms 1st case of Omicron COVID-19 variant

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Japan confirmed the first case infected with the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 in the country, the Japanese government said Tuesday.

The infected person is a man in his 30s arriving from Namibia, who tested positive for the COVID-19 at Narita airport near Tokyo upon his arrival on Sunday.

On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government will in principle ban the entry of all foreign nationals as he pledged to act quickly on concerns over the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19.

The measure has been implemented starting on Tuesday and lasts for about one month, and requires citizens and foreigners with resident status returning from high-risk areas are required to quarantine up to 10 days in a government-designated facility.

The Omicron variant was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa last week. So far, several European countries, as well as countries and regions including Australia, Canada, Israel and China's Hong Kong, have confirmed infections of the variant.

The WHO has named the strain that contains a large number of mutations a "variant of concern," warning that it may be highly transmissible and pose an increased risk of reinfection to people who have previously been infected with the COVID-19.