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London – UK has detected a new variant of the coronavirus in case contacts that have traveled from South Africa, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.
The health department said last week that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been found and could be responsible for a recent spike in infections in South Africa.
“Thanks to the impressive genomic capacity of South Africans, we have detected two cases of another new coronavirus variant here in the UK,” Hancock told a news conference.
“They are both case contacts who have traveled from South Africa in recent weeks.”
Britain is already struggling to slow the spread of a mutated strain of the virus, which is up to 70% more transmissible, and Hancock said the new variant appears to have mutated even more and is more infectious.
He said close contacts of those with the new variant are being quarantined and all those who had been to South Africa in the last fortnight should also be quarantined.
He also said that immediate restrictions were being placed on travel from South Africa.
Reuters
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