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MADRID: Spain has recorded its first cases of a coronavirus variant believed to be particularly infectious that emerged in Britain, the Madrid regional government said on Saturday (December 26).
The region said four cases had been detected involving people who had recently arrived from the UK or had close contact with someone who had.
The father, mother and sister of a young man who arrived in Madrid by plane last week tested positive for the variant of the coronavirus, he added.
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It is suspected that the young man also has the new variant, but the Spanish authorities are awaiting the results of a polymerase chain reaction PCR test to confirm it.
The fourth confirmed case of the new variant involves a man who arrived in Madrid on December 20 on another flight.
“The patients are not seriously ill, we know that this strain is more transmissible, but it does not cause a more serious disease,” Antonio Zapatero, deputy director of Health of the Community of Madrid, told a press conference.
“There is no need to be alarmed.”
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There are three other suspected cases of the coronavirus variant, but the test results will only be available on Tuesday or Wednesday, Zapatero said.
The new strain of the virus has prompted more than 50 countries, including Spain, to impose travel restrictions on the UK.
Madrid has prohibited all entries from the United Kingdom, except for Spanish nationals and residents.
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France and Italy have also already confirmed cases of the new variant, while the World Health Organization reported that nine cases have been detected in Denmark and one in the Netherlands and Australia.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the new viral strain “may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original version of the disease.”
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