In Canada,Ontario's Chief Medical Officer announced on Saturday,local time,that they had confirmed two cases,the first detection of the variant in North America. The patients,a couple,had no known travel history,meaning it was likely a case of community spread.
While the United States has not yet reported a case,experts say it is probably due to the nation's very low rate of genetic sequencing of the virus to check for such changes,despite Americans leading the world in coronavirus infections and deaths.
Beginning Monday,the US government will require all travellers flying in from Britain to show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of the plane's departure. Early in the pandemic,the United States banned travellers from China and the European Union,among others,though by that point COVID-19 had already been spreading undetected throughout the US.
Canada has detected the variant in a couple who returned from England. Experts believe it is also spreading in the US.Credit:The Canadian Press
Japan has temporarily banned all foreign nationals except those with residency from entering the country starting December 28 through to the end of January. Japan reported its first case of the British variant on Christmas Day amid a new surge of coronavirus cases in the capital,Tokyo. Japan said five patients detected with the variant had all travelled from the United Kingdom,from which Japan had curbed travel last week.