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The new strain of coronavirus attributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the UK has escaped to the rest of the world.
Cases of the most contagious mutation of the virus that sent much of the UK to a close shutdown before Christmas have been confirmed not only in several European countries, but also in Japan and Australia.
Japan identified five cases with the UK strain, all in people who recently arrived from the UK, The Guardian reported. All five people have been quarantined, but the presence of the strain is concerning in a country that managed to quell COVID in the early days of the pandemic and is now experiencing a rapid increase in cases.
So far, a case of the UK variant was found in France, also in someone who had traveled to the UK and arrived in Tours from London last weekend. French health officials say several other suspected cases are being analyzed.
The variant has also been found in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia, according to Sky News. Most of the cases involve people who traveled from the UK.
Russia was the latest nation to require UK travelers to self-quarantine, easing restrictions after previously joining the ban on travel from the country.
A strain was found in South Africa that looks very similar to the UK strain, but experts are still not sure if it is the same or yet another variant. Another variant is circulating in Nigeria.
