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PARIS – France recorded its first case of the new coronavirus variant, as the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths rose in the country, raising concerns that a new wave of the virus will affect the second largest economy. large of the euro zone.
The French Health Ministry said a Frenchman who recently arrived in France from London had tested positive for the new variant of the coronavirus.
The ministry said the case, the first in France, had been found in the city of Tours. The man in question arrived from London on December 19. He was currently isolated and feeling fine, the ministry added.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock had said on December 14 that an increase in COVID cases in the UK could have been linked to the new variant of the virus in the country.
Hancock said more than 1,000 cases of the new variant have been identified, mostly in south-east England.
In recent days, countries around the world have closed their borders to Great Britain and South Africa after the identification of cases of the new variant of the rapidly spreading coronavirus in those countries.
France recorded 20,262 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 159 more related deaths in hospitals in the last 24 hours.
France’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now stands at 2,547,771, while its COVID-19 death toll stands at 62,427, the seventh highest in the world. —Reuters
