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NEW YORK (NYTIMES) – Canada, France, Japan, Spain and Norway have found small numbers of infections involving a potentially more transmissible new variant of the coronavirus, most related to travel from Britain, where it was first detected.
The rapid spread of the variant caused the closure of London and the south of England, caused a temporary French blockade of the English Channel and caused countries around the world to prohibit the entry of travelers from Great Britain.
Because few countries have the level of genomic surveillance that Britain has, there is concern that the variant has traveled the world undetected for weeks.
A recent study by British scientists found no evidence that the variant was more deadly than others, but estimated that it was 56% more contagious.
The British variant has been diagnosed in seven people in Japan, the country’s health ministry said.
In Spain, the variant was found in the capital region, local authorities said on Saturday.
In France, the first case of the new variant was identified on Friday, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
Swedish officials said Saturday that a case of the variant had been detected there, Reuters reported.
Health officials in Ontario, Canada, said Saturday they had confirmed two cases of the variant in the province.
And on Sunday (December 27), the Oslo Institute of Public Health reported that two travelers from Britain who had entered Norway this month had the new variant, according to Reuters.
It is normal for viruses to mutate, and most coronavirus mutations have turned out to be minor.
The British variant has a constellation of 23 mutations, several of which could alter its transmissibility.
Vaccine experts are confident that available vaccines will be able to block the new variant, although that must be confirmed by laboratory experiments that are now underway.
Germany, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Australia and Singapore have identified infections with the new variant.
And Denmark, which has broader genomic surveillance than many other countries, detected 33 cases from November 14 to December 14, according to Danish health authorities.
The United States has yet to report any cases of the British variant.
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