Society

Japan confirms 1st coronavirus case among cabinet ministers

Apr 02 (Japan Today) - The government said Friday that Seiko Noda, minister in charge of gender equality and children's policies, has been infected with the novel coronavirus, the first confirmed case among incumbents of the Japanese cabinet.

Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike the same day warned that the more transmissible BA.2 form of the Omicron variant has been becoming dominant "rapidly" in new infections recently in the capital.

Suspected cases of the subvariant in the seven days through March 21 accounted for around 52 percent, the metropolitan government said. On Friday, it confirmed 7,982 new COVID-19 cases, up around 700 from a week earlier.

Noda had a slight fever in the morning and later tested positive for the virus, according to the Cabinet Office. She was not in close contact with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other ministers. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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