The latest country to report cases of a new strain of coronavirus first identified in the UK is Spain. Early studies indicate that it is much more contagious, sparking fears that the pandemic might intensify.
Four people who recently arrived from the UK in Madrid According to Al Jazeera, the region’s deputy health chief Antonio Zapatero announced Saturday that they were infected with the latest coronavirus variation, but said “there is no need for an alarm,” adding that none of the patients was critically ill.
A tourist from the U.K., according to Reuters. Sweden tested positive for the new strain, confirmed Saturday by the country’s health department.
France and Lebanon also said Friday that the new version had been checked positive by travelers from London.
As far away as Japan, which announced Friday that it had found five cases of the new strain, all in people who had recently arrived from the UK, the mutated virus was discovered.
The Department of Health of Ireland said Friday researchers found evidence of the variant through whole genome sequencing, and said in a statement that further work will be carried out to determine its prevalence in the region.
According to the BBC, the latest strain has also been found in Italy, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.
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While it has not been observed in the U.S. yet, this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that it is possible that the variant has already made its way stateside. The leading infectious disease official in the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Tuesday that Americans should “assume it’s already here.” Los Angeles County researchers started analyzing virus samples this week to decide whether, according to the Los Angeles Times, the latest strain is circulating on the West Coast.
This week, researchers published the findings of a study that has yet to be peer-reviewed, indicating that the current strain is approximately 56% more infectious than previous strains of coronavirus. The U.K., which has developed greater capabilities than other countries to track genetic variations in the coronavirus, was the first country to identify the variation, although it is likely that it has been circulating for some time without being detected in other countries.
It is suspected that the new variant is the driving force behind an increase in U.K. cases and deaths. As a result, hundreds of countries have forbidden travelers from coming from Britain.
