Japan on Wednesday confirmed its first cases of the new mu variant of the coronavirus in two people arriving from abroad through airport screenings.
The health ministry announced that the mu variant was detected in a woman in her 40s who arrived on June 26 from the United Arab Emirates. The other case was with a woman in her 50s who arrived on July 5 from the U.K. Both women were asymptomatic upon arrival.
All travelers to Japan are required to take a PCR test upon arrival and wait for results — if they test positive, they are quarantined in a designated facility or hospitalized depending on their symptoms. Even if they test negative, they are required to quarantine for 14 days at home or a designated facility depending on where they have come from.
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