[Note: This story was published on Oct. 28, 2022.]

Six cases of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant XBB have been detected in Tokyo, according to the metropolitan government’s COVID-19 infection monitoring committee.

XBB — a virus formed from a combination of the omicron subvariants BA.2.75 and BA.2 — was first reported by Singapore in September and has since been confirmed in 35 countries.