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Tokyo (dpa) - The variant of the coronavirus that appeared in England has now been detected in Japan for the first time.
It was found in five people who entered the UK between December 18 and 21, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura announced on Friday evening (local time).
Those affected were sent to a 14-day quarantine.
One of them has symptoms of exhaustion, the other four are symptom-free.
The five entered before Japan imposed entry restrictions because of the virus mutation discovered in the UK.
This is possibly much more contagious than the previously known form.
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Japan also reported a record of 3,823 new corona infections in one day.
With a total of around 215,000 infections and 3,200 deaths in connection with the virus, the country with its approximately 127 million inhabitants is in relatively good shape by international comparison.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201226-99-815165 / 2