Japan's First Local Omicron Infection Case... "Family of 3 with No Overseas Travel History"

Three Family Members Infected Locally in Osaka... Authorities Say "No Nationwide Spread"

A quiet scene at Narita Airport, Japan's international gateway. Since the occurrence of Omicron cases, Japan has, in principle, banned new entries of foreigners from around the world. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The first case of local transmission of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has been reported in Japan.

According to local media such as NHK and Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 22nd, Osaka Prefecture announced that three family members with no history of overseas travel were infected with Omicron on the same day.

Osaka Prefectural Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura held a press conference on the day and stated that four local residents, including one person with a history of overseas travel, were confirmed to be infected with Omicron, and the infection route of the three family members who stayed only within the country is unknown.

The three family members confirmed to be infected with Omicron are a male teacher in his 30s at a municipal elementary school, his wife, and their daughter under 10 years old. The man showed symptoms on the 18th, the woman on the 19th, and the girl on the 20th. This is the first case of community transmission in Japan.

Earlier, a Namibian diplomat in his 30s who entered Japan through Narita Airport was confirmed as the first Omicron case on the 30th of last month.

Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto said at a press conference on the day, "At this point, we do not think Omicron has spread throughout Japan, but most experts believe nationwide spread is inevitable," adding, "We will continue the current level of entry restrictions for the time being to buy time to prepare countermeasures against Omicron."

In Japan, the number of confirmed Omicron cases has exceeded 80, but all were imported cases with overseas travel history. This is the first case of local transmission.

As the number of Omicron cases, including imported cases, increases, the Japanese government is strengthening its countermeasures against Omicron.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated at a press conference on the 21st that the current policy, which basically prohibits new entries of foreigners worldwide, will be extended for the time being while monitoring the situation during the year-end and New Year holidays.

He also said that close contacts of Omicron-infected individuals will be requested to stay at accommodation facilities for 14 days instead of home quarantine. It is known that many close contacts previously chose home quarantine despite government requests.

Prime Minister Kishida emphasized that genome analysis to determine Omicron infection status will be conducted for all new COVID-19 cases to "strengthen infection containment measures through thorough early detection."

According to Kyodo News, the cumulative number of Omicron infections in Japan has increased to 153 with 68 newly confirmed cases at airport quarantine checkpoints.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.