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South Korea has become the latest country to confirm the presence of the new variant of the coronavirus.
The new variant, listed as VUI-202012/01, was discovered in the UK and is believed to be up to 70% more transmissible, meaning it can spread much faster than the original version.
The Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency said the variant had been seen in three people who arrived in South Korea from London on December 22.
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The new variant of COVID is becoming ‘dominant’
South Korea has confirmed nearly 57,000 cases of the coronavirus and 808 deaths since the pandemic began.
It comes after the variant was confirmed in Norway and on the Portuguese island of Madeira, with arrivals from the UK in both cases.
Two people in the Canadian province of Ontario were confirmed to be infected with the variant, although they had no known history of high-risk travel, exposure or contact.
The first cases from Japan included a man who had visited the UK and a member of his family, while Sweden reported a case in a traveler from the UK who became ill on arrival and then tested positive for the variant, before isolating himself. .
A case in France He is a French citizen living in England who had left London for Tours on December 19. He isolates himself at home and tells himself that he is fine.
Spain reported its first case of the variant on Saturday, though further details have yet to be revealed.
Other cases have also been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia.
Dozens of countries around the world have placed restrictions on UK travelers since the variant was identified in south-east England.
While it is believed to spread faster, there is as yet no evidence that the new variant causes more serious disease or is capable of evading any of the vaccines that have been approved for use in recent weeks.
