Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato (Mainichi)

       TOKYO -- As of June 21, 37 cases of "Delta Plus" coronavirus variant infections have been confirmed in Japan in tallies from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said in a June 25 news conference.

       The Delta Plus strain is a mutation of the "Delta" variant first detected in India. Regarding the difference between Delta Plus and the reportedly highly contagious ordinary Delta variant, Kato said, "As of now, I am briefed that there is no evidence indicating differences to the Delta strain in terms of infectivity, severity or vaccine efficacy."

       He added, "We will thoroughly collect information and analyze it in cooperation with other countries' governments and the World Health Organization."

       (Japanese original by Akiko Kato, Political News Department)

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