After a lull in new cases of COVID-19 that lasted weeks, concern is building again in Japan as more infections involving the omicron variant continue to emerge.
The country saw its first community transmission of the variant Wednesday when Osaka Prefecture detected the new strain in three members of the same family who have no recent travel history.
The three individuals — a male schoolteacher, a woman in her 30s and a girl under 10 years old — were hospitalized after developing mild symptoms including fever between Saturday and Monday, according to the Osaka Prefectural Government.