KYOTO: A woman in her 20s living in the western Japan prefecture of Kyoto has been confirmed infected with the omicron coronavirus variant, the prefectural government said Thursday.

The woman has no record of recent overseas travel.

“We confirmed a community-acquired infection” of the omicron variant just after such cases were found in Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki told a press conference.

Over the community transmission of the new variant in Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to accelerate efforts to strengthen prevention, testing and early treatment by using the time created by border control measures.

“We take the approach that in dealing with a crisis, doing too much too quickly is better than doing too little too late,” Kishida told a meeting Thursday morning.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the omicron variant has not spread nationwide. “At this point, we have no immediate plan to change the policy of easing coronavirus restrictions,” Matsuno told a press conference.

JIJI Press