Japan will ban entry to foreign nationals after COVID-19 variant detected in country

TOKYO (CNN) — Japan will ban foreign nationals from entering the country from Monday through the end of January after several cases of the new COVID-19 variant were recorded in the country, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Japanese citizens and foreign residents can still enter, but they are required to self-quarantine for 14 days, according to Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK.

The move came after the Tokyo metropolitan government on Saturday confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 variant involving people who recently returned from the UK.

The two new cases were the first to be discovered outside of airport quarantine in the country.