China confirms first case of UK coronavirus variant

#China has confirmed its first case of a new coronavirus variant that was recently detected in #Britain, health officials said.

The new strain, which experts say potentially spreads faster than the original variant, has prompted travel restrictions on the UK by more than 50 countries — including #China, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year.

The first patient in #China with the new variant is a 23-year-old woman from #Shanghai who arrived from #Britain on #December 14, the #Chinese #Centre for #Disease #Control said in a research note published #Wednesday.

#She was hospitalised on arrival as she showed mild symptoms. #Health experts conducted a genetic sequencing of her test samples on #December 24 “due to travel history from the UK and abnormalities in nucleic acid test results”,” the #China CDC said.

The patient was found to have a strain different to those found in #Shanghai or #Wuhan earlier, and further testing confirmed it was the variant known as B.1.1.7 that has been spreading in the UK since #October.

#Health authorities have carried out contact-tracing, the CDC statement added.

#China suspended direct flights to and from #Britain indefinitely on #December 24 because of the new strain.

#British #Prime #Minister #Boris #Johnson has said the new variant “may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original version of the disease”.

#But there is no evidence so far to suggest that infection with the new variant is more likely to lead to a severe case of #Covid-19 or increase the risk of death.

prw / apj / qan