Japan finds more than 90 cases of new COVID-19 virus variant

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing protective masks amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk on a street in Tokyo, Japan, February 2, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese health authorities have found more than 90 cases of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus, the government's chief spokesman said on Friday.

The mutant variant, known as E484K, has been found in 91 cases in the Kanto area of eastern Japan and in 2 cases at airports, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobo Kato told reporters.