COVID-19: France confirms earliest case on its soil of UK virus variant
26 December, 2020
France features confirmed the first circumstance of a fresh coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain, its wellbeing ministry said.
The brand new strain of the virus, which authorities fear is considerably more contagious, has prompted a lot more than 50 countries to impose travel restrictions on the UK.
The first French case - within a citizen living in Britain who arrived from London on December 19 - is asymptomatic and self-isolating at home in Tours in central France, the ministry said later Friday (Dec 25).
These were tested in a hospital on December 21, and later found positive for any risk of strain.
Health authorities have completed contact-tracing for the health professionals looking after the patient, the ministry said found in a statement.
Some of their contacts which were viewed as vulnerable would similarly come to be isolated, it said.
Furthermore first case, other confident samples that "may advise the VOC 202012/01 variant are being sequenced" by the expert laboratories of the nationwide Pasteur Institute, the declaration added.
BORDERS CLOSED
On Monday, France's well being minister Olivier Veran had admitted that it had been possible the newly learned strain had been in the country.
Italian authorities have detected the brand new strain in an individual in Rome, as the World Health Group reported that 9 cases have already been detected on Denmark and one every single in the Netherlands and Australia.
Following snap 48-hour ban this week, France possessed reopened its borders to the UK - partly to allow French citizens to come back home, as well concerning relieve the large build-up of freight items - but had instituted a evaluating policy.
France's interior ministry explained Thursday that restrictions on travelling from the UK will continue "until in least January 6".
For now, only citizens of France or the EU, those with residency rights generally there or organization travellers are allowed to try to make the crossing from the UK - if they can show a negative COVID-19 test significantly less than three days old.
British Primary Minister Boris Johnson has reported the brand new viral strain "could be up to 70 per cent more transmissible compared to the initial version of the condition".
Before Christmas British wellness minister Matt Hancock announced the growth of strict lockdown methods across further elements of the south of England to support the spread of the disease.
With an increase of than 68,000 deaths from the virus, the uk is one of the hardest hit countries in Europe.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com