The Japanese government decided Wednesday to further tighten entry restrictions by banning foreign residents who are travelling from India, Nepal or Pakistan.
Foreign nationals with a valid resident status as well as Japanese citizens, who had travelled to these three countries, were allowed to re-enter the country on the condition that they spent the first six days of a two-week quarantine at a government-designated facility.
However, officials have decided to temporarily ban to foreign residents who are flying in from those countries due to the Covid-19 spike in the region caused by new coronavirus variants.
Notably, the entry ban will be take effect from Friday May 14. It is unclear as to how long the restriction will be in place for.
On April 26, the government said it had confirmed 21 cases of the B.1.617 variant, of which 20 were found at airport quarantines and one case confirmed among domestic infections.
Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the mutation first found in India last year as a "variant of global concern" and requiring heightened tracking and analysis.
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