There Is Transmission Of Omicron Variant Infection Cases Between Families, Governor Of Osaka Calls The First Community Case

Illustration of COVID 19 in Japan. (Wikimedia Commons/Nesnad)

JAKARTA - Japan reported on Wednesday the first instance of a community-spread infection of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto said the three infections of the Omicron variant in Osaka Prefecture were cases of community displacement because the route of infection was unclear.

The cases are from the same family and none of the people have traveled overseas, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said at a coronavirus policy meeting on Wednesday.

"I believe this is considered a case of community transfer. I think it will be a first in Osaka prefecture, and a first in the country," Yoshimura said, citing Reuters December 22.

As fears of the Omicron variant grow, the world's third-largest economy has tightened border restrictions and pledged to speed up booster fire.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday said COVID-19 border controls, some of the strictest in the world, would remain in place for now.

To note, Japan has had 1.73 million coronavirus infections and 18,391 deaths since the pandemic began, but the rate of new infections has fallen.