More than 320 people in 25 prefectures had tested positive as of Tuesday for coronavirus variants that are said to be more transmissible, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey of prefectures and other entities.
The area in which variants have been detected has expanded since the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced Friday that 194 people had tested positive in 20 prefectures. If 57 people who tested positive at airport quarantine are included, the number rises to more than 380.
The ministry had been announcing cases of variant infections in blocks, after the National Institute of Infectious Diseases confirmed them based on genetic analysis of specimens sent in by municipalities. Since Monday, however, the ministry has been announcing individual cases when patients were confirmed to be positive in PCR testing conducted by municipalities.
On Tuesday, The Yomiuri Shimbun surveyed prefectures and government-designated cities, tallying the number of people who had tested positive in municipality PCR tests that can detect the variants. In addition to the 20 prefectures already announced by the ministry, infections were confirmed in five more prefectures: 13 in Hokkaido, one in Aomori, 13 in Hiroshima, one in Kagawa and nine in Ehime.
The Hiroshima city government announced Tuesday that 13 people had been confirmed to have tested positive with the variant, the first such confirmation in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Osaka Prefecture has seen a series of variant infections since the beginning of March. The number of patients in the prefecture remains at 12, according to the ministry's count, but 79 had been confirmed as of Tuesday.
In Aomori and Hyogo prefectures, a total of six people were infected with a variant called E484K, which is different from the British, South African and Brazilian variants currently announced by the ministry. E484K is said to have the potential to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
-- 9 have allergic reaction
Nine healthcare workers vaccinated for the novel coronavirus were reported to have developed severe allergic symptoms of anaphylaxis, the health ministry announced Tuesday, bringing to 17 the total number of people reported to have displayed such symptoms in Japan.
The ministry will seek expert opinions and investigate the causal connection with the vaccinations.
According to the ministry, symptoms such as itching, shortness of breath and nausea were seen in nine women, aged in their 20s to 50s, within 30 minutes after they were vaccinated on Monday. All of them improved after receiving medication, but at least five were hospitalized for observation.
One of the women, in her 40s, felt better at one point after being hospitalized but developed symptoms again later on. According to reports from medical institutions, all nine cases were deemed to be related to the vaccination shots.
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