New coronavirus variant found in French region of Brittany / REUTERS
A new coronavirus variant has been found in the French region of Brittany, said the French health ministry in a statement late on Monday, adding that initial analysis did not show this new variant to be more serious or transmissible than others.
The health ministry said the new variant had been found in a cluster of cases in a hospital centre in Lannion, as reported by Reuters.
Read alsoCOVID-19: Two cases of UK strain officially confirmed in UkraineCOVID-19 variants: Background
- A new virus strain was detected in South Africa in mid-December.
- At the same time, another threatening variant of the coronavirus was revealed in the UK. This strain is said to be nearly 50% more infectious than the previously known SARS-CoV-2 variants. The mutation allows the coronavirus to penetrate healthy cells more easily and firmly hold therein.
- In mid-February, researchers in southern Finland discovered a new, "unique" variant of the coronavirus.
