Japanese health authorities have found more than 90 cases of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus, a chief government spokesman said on Friday.
The new variant, also known as the E484K, has been detected in 91 cases in Kanto province in eastern Japan and in 2 cases at airports, Cabinet Secretary-General Katsunobo Kato told reporters.
The government is now reportedly increasing surveillance of the variant as it may be more immune to the coronavirus vaccine, which was first distributed by Japan this week.
This variant is believed to originate from abroad but differs from that detected in Britain and South Africa, according to the Japan National Infectious Diseases Institute.
Japan has reported 151 variant cases from Britain, South Africa and Brazil, according to the health ministry. The country has recorded over 400,000 COVID-19 cases with 7,194 deaths so far.
