"We will take a decision, no matter how tough, to interrupt that trade, to interrupt those flows, if we think that it is necessary to protect public health and to stop new variants coming in," Johnson said, however.
Japan is trying to bring coronavirus cases under control and get vaccinations well under way as it prepares to host the delayed Summer Olympics, now scheduled to start on July 23.
At the start of January, the share of the British variant was around 5% ... Now, the most recent tests show that the share has been systematically growing and for the last 21 days we have almost 25%."
"The virus in the British version develops so fast as it is of course much more contagious," he said, adding that the variant share was even as high as 70% in random tests.
There are no direct flights from South Africa or Brazil, so the health ministry and the civil aviation ministry are in touch on the steps to be taken on the matter.
India's COVID-19 cases rose by 9,121 in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 10.93 million, second only to the tally of the United States. Deaths rose by 81 to 155,813.
The move has cost several Wall Street giants huge losses and there had been a fear that investors would have to sell other assets to close out positions to protect themselves from suffering steeper losses.
Nail and hair salons may also reopen on a limited basis, with masks required of staff and customers, while some youth sporting events are permitted to resume as well.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a news conference on Friday that the UK may need to implement further measures to protect its borders from new variants of COVID-19.
The meeting comes as global infections soared past 91 million and deaths approached two million, with governments around the world reimposing painful economic lockdowns and social restrictions.
US crude oil stockpiles likely fell for a fifth straight week, while refined products inventories were seen up last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
UK scientists also expressed concern that vaccines being rolled out in Britain may not be able to protect against another variant that emerged in South Africa.
PAKISTAN health officials said the variant found in Britain had been detected in the southern province of Sindh.