national

Japan finds COVID-19 variant in 3 people with no record of travel to UK

39 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Thomson Reuters 2021.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

39 Comments
Login to comment

there was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now

Of course there was no proof. You need to test before you can get proof.

29 ( +33 / -4 )

the doors were closed a little too late

15 ( +16 / -1 )

Ask that Japanese guy who returned from the UK and ignored quarantine measures to have dinner with friends outside.

29 ( +31 / -2 )

This incident only take few people who that supposed to be in quarantine and infected with that strain go out for dining with 10 people, after that it will spread without control.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Japan-finds-new-COVID-virus-strain-distinct-from-UK-and-Africa-types

19 ( +20 / -1 )

there was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now

Of course there was no proof. You need to test before you can get proof.

exactly.

Ask that Japanese guy who returned from the UK and ignored quarantine measures to have dinner with friends outside.

Its ok for him to do that. After all, he is Japanese. What are they going to do? Deport him?

This incident only take few people who that supposed to be in quarantine and infected with that strain go out for dining with 10 people, after that it will spread without control.

All of which are Japanese

This variant of COVID clearly doesn’t follow the Japanese government’s thinking that COVID lays dormant until 8:01 p.m.

Or that it is mainly spread by foreigners

15 ( +17 / -2 )

Wow, so it’s almost like it’s spreading between people. How could this possibly be?

22 ( +23 / -1 )

Could it be that the Corona virus is mutating in Japan?

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Who went to Shizuoka after returning from UK ?

Japanese FBI, please investigate.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

People interact, and things spread.

Obviously a Japanese person came into contact (either directly or indirectly, i.e. breathing the same air in a restaurant or bar) with someone from the UK, Brazil, South Africa, or any of the other affected countries.

-16 ( +2 / -18 )

Definitely too late to stop the spread of the new variant(s). The only thing we can do is try to slow it down and vaccinate..

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Does three people being newsworthy mean that the tests performed on other people are (a) capable of detecting the new Covid variants but (b) have not found them so far? Or is that expecting too much?

The BBC said that testing in Ireland suggested that 45% of infections were already the new variant. If you graphed that one alone without regular Covid, it will be near vertical. To me, it is a big flashing sign saying that we need to take this much more seriously.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

The UK strain is known to be more virulent, and yet even with the number of cases that spiked in the Kanto area no one bothered to do the genome sequencing test?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

A health ministry official said that the authorities are looking into how the three became infected but that there was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now.

Well it has certainly spread to at least 3 people in Shizuoka!

11 ( +11 / -0 )

there was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now

Actually, you have three patients (none of whom have Go To Britain) as proof that the Britain variant is spreading in Shizuoka.

By the way, and I know this will come as a shock to most Japanese politicians, but the coronavirus mutates without regard to national borders. There are, last I heard, about 20 variants.

The most worrying are the Britain, South African, and Brazilian because they spread faster. This means the virus has discovered a new mechanism for dispersion and it is only a matter of time until the unique Japanese variant pops up.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

The variants were identified as very important in the UK, but that doesn't mean they had not been spreading before, for any country that has not closed completely their borders at that point it is unavoidable to find it inside its borders.

Could it be that the Corona virus is mutating in Japan?

Theoretically it is possible, but if this is reported as the variant from UK by the experts it means its genome is closer to those strains than the ones found in Japan.

The UK strain is known to be more virulent, and yet even with the number of cases that spiked in the Kanto area no one bothered to do the genome sequencing test?

Just because there is no reports of the sequencing this doesn't mean it was not done, sequencing of samples is a simple process that can lead to a lot of information so it would be natural to think experts are doing it for at least some of the samples obtained (else how these cases were found?). It is more likely that the new variants just haven't been found. Also, the variants are described as more easily spread, but without difference on the disease they produce, so they would not be more virulent.

There are, last I heard, about 20 variants.

There are thousands of variants, RNA viruses mutate constantly and you can find dozens of slightly different viruses from a single patient. Experts classify those variants into groups that appear to have some importance (because they are predominant on one place but no others, or because they replace other variants, etc.) Those are the ones that are reported.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

The UK strain is known to be more virulent, and yet even with the number of cases that spiked in the Kanto area no one bothered to do the genome sequencing test?

The U.K. variant is known to be more infectious, not more virulent.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

It isn’t a “UK strain.” It’s a strain first identified in the UK. There is a huge difference in wording.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Japanese doctors have detected a fast-spreading variant of the new coronavirus first discovered in Britain in three people who had not travelled there ... The three, aged from their 20s to their 60s and living in Shizuoka Prefecture...

there was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now.

Lol

6 ( +6 / -0 )

A health ministry official said that the authorities are looking into how the three became infected but that there was no proof yet that the variant first detected in Britain was spreading in Shizuoka now.

And this shows how completely detached government Ministries are from reality. . . . . .

If 3 individuals from Shizuoka have tested positive for the new strain and they have not traveled to the UK. . . . . . there is only ONE logical and highly probable answer. Community spread.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

A Japanese friend working for Shizuoka prefecture told me that several of the previous cases recorded here, several were from South American and Filipino residents ignoring quarantine at the airport. Shizuoka has a large Latin American population. I don't know about these latest three with the new strain.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Why is anyone surprised.  This is essentially variant of flu or the common cold (except more focussed on certain risk groups and a tad more deadly) and therefore impossible to prevent the spread of and almost inevitably going to mutate.  Just another fact that shows how the draconian approach taken in copying China on dealing with this has maybe not been as sensible as we are being duped into believing.

Note cases going up plenty in China at the moment also.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Covid is not a cold or flu variant. Stop posting fake news.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

In another article Japantoday mentioned brazilian returning to japan brought the new corona variant. Later it was 3 japanese nationalities return from brazil to japan

Another article mentioned about penalties for who are breaking the government rules. For foreigners this include a possibility of revoking resident status. But most japanese are not following the rules.

When is japan stopping to blame foreigners?

Also his article shows japanese are causing also.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Possibly they had contact with people who get the new corona variant and they ended up getting it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan has so far detected 45 cases of new variants of the virus that were first spotted in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, he said.

I remember reading an article recently where experts in my home country estimated that the new strain from Britain will be "outconquering" the original strain there almost completely by mid February. There is almost no information about how it is spreading here in Japan though...

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I laughed when I saw the fake news charge.  like anyone cares what someone on here says.

Maybe not virologically true, but Covid is so similar to flu and cold in terms of how it spreads and possible preventative measures as well as what we are already seeing is mutations that I kind of agree that we may as well accept it is now endemic and will be an annual event like flu season is already.

And that "the vaccine" will also become "the annual vaccine" that we will all be encouraged (maybe even forced??) to take.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Also if you look at the numbers, death rates vary not based on any noticeable measures taken.

finally note everyone who says that the US deaths are all the Feds fault, based on elsewhere seems the states (who run this stuff) did an ok'ish job.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Anyway, just waiting and doing nothing means of course also a steadily increasing probability of appearing new virus mutations and variants completely independent from outside imports. You still don’t think of that, do you?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Too obvious isn't it ?

The border should have been closed a year ago when the first cases appeared, any one who left stays out, No entry especially from infected areas, but the brains trust in charge down town in kasumigasickey only thought of the incoming tourist money they would be missing out on ...............................too late to shut the gate now mate !!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This is essentially variant of flu or the common cold (except more focussed on certain risk groups and a tad more deadly) and therefore impossible to prevent the spread of and almost inevitably going to mutate.

The important thing is how it mutates, all RNA viruses mutate constantly, it is a very important part of their evolutive strategy, but not all RNA virus can escape immunity as well as influenza, Coronaviruses are not that flexible, specially when their importance come from the binding of a single viral protein to a single cellular receptor, that makes it much more easier to keep it under control with the same immune response not matter how much they change.

Maybe not virologically true, but Covid is so similar to flu and cold in terms of how it spreads and possible preventative measures as well as what we are already seeing is mutations that I kind of agree that we may as well accept it is now endemic and will be an annual event like flu season is already.

The COVID way of spreading and the fact that it mutates would define their epidemiological behavior into a single season, but to have annual events this is not enough, for that it would require either many species of viruses to give you "COVID-19" (like happens with the common cold) or for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to have many serotypes (like the influenza virus), none of those things are true.

Even if the immunity granted by the infection or the vaccine is imperfect or short lasted this does not mean the person would be as unprotected as someone that has never been infected before, seeing how true re-infections have been extremely rare (so the protection is quite good) and that patients from the first SARS epidemic show effective immune responses even today (meaning the protection is long lasted) there is no reason to believe COVID-19 can only become endemic. Once the vast majority of the people have immunity the number of possible cases is reduced very importantly and it is entirely possible it can be eradicated (at least from countries that keep those immunity levels high).

3 ( +5 / -2 )

That's not a surprise. It's likely that these variants were already widely spread globally before they were initially detected. Especially in Japan there are loads of undetected covid-19 cases judging by high positive test rate.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Who knows how long this coronavirus has been spreading there would be many mutations that we probably don't even know about. This will end up being another vaccination that we will need to get the Flu and Covid.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

A Japanese friend working for Shizuoka prefecture told me that several of the previous cases recorded here, several were from South American and Filipino residents...Shizuoka has a large Latin American population.

This is a fact that most people on this board are not aware of.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

One can safely assume that the person who brought this strain into Japan was likely a Japanese national, not a foreign resident, whose movements are proscribed.

Actually, no, in reality (first-hand experience as well as confirmation from other foreign residents) so long as a foreign resident tests negative before returning (as well as at Narita/Haneda), there is no hard check into his/her movements.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites