Four Brazilian travelers returning from Japan have been diagnosed with a new strain of the virus • More and more provinces in the island state are announcing new measures against the corona
Airport in Japan // Photo: Reuters
A new corona virus mutation was discovered today (Monday) among four travelers returning to Brazil from Japan and experts in the country believe it originated in Tokyo, the Brazilian Ministry of Health announced.
The new strain has been compared to those discovered in the UK and South Africa, but its characteristics and the level of risk posed by it are still unknown.
The identification of the new mutation is further evidence that the corona virus changes over time as long as the disease is not under control.
The revelation of the new mutation may explain the outbreak of the new corona in Japan, which breaks infection records in some areas.
This morning, four counties in the state sought to declare a state of emergency in order to deal with the growing morbidity.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihida Suga, has announced a series of emergency measures in the capital Tokyo and the provinces of Chiba Kangwa and Seitma.
In areas where a state of emergency has been declared, restaurants, bars and schools will be closed for at least a month.
The province of Gifu also declared its own state of emergency.
Meanwhile, the German company Biontech, which developed the vaccine together with Pfizer, is expected to announce as early as next week that its vaccine is effective against the British mutation to the virus, and within ten days the company hopes to announce the same about the South African strain.