Countries tighten restrictions over new COVID strains

Tightened measures

The new COVID-19 strains have complicated the world's fight against the pandemic and prompted countries around the world to tighten their restrictive measures, including travel bans.

From Saturday, another 6 million people in England have been placed under the highest Tier Four restrictions, while Scotland and Northern Ireland have also imposed tougher measures on their citizens.

London and many other parts of England have already been under Tier Four restrictions, which require residents in the areas to stay at home, with limited exemptions. People are also urged to work from home when they can.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government has decided to temporarily ban the entry of most foreign nationals as a precaution to curb the potential spread of the new COVID-19 strains.

The entry ban will start on Monday and last through Jan. 31 for the time being, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Saturday.

Earlier, Japan imposed a temporary ban on new arrivals of foreign nationals from Britain for purposes such as business or study, in response to the new and highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus found there.