China reports first case of new COVID-19 variant: CDC
Beijing, Jan 01: China has detected its first imported case of the new coronavirus variant that is spreading rapidly around Britain, according to a publication run by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The variant was detected in a 23-year-old female student returning to China from Britain, who was tested in Shanghai on Dec. 14, according to the latest edition of China CDC Weekly published on Wednesday.
The patient in Shanghai has been transferred to a designated medical institution for quarantine, and investigation into her close contacts has started, according to the publication.
The case "poses a great potential threat to the prevention and control of COVID-19 in China", the publication said.
Researchers ran gene-sequencing on the patient's sample on Dec. 24 and found the strain is a variant known as "VUI202012/01", the publication said.
The variant includes a genetic mutation that, in theory, could result in COVID-19 spreading more easily between people.
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Countries
around
the
world
have
cut
off
travel
links
to
Britain
to
stop
the
spread
of
the
new
variant.
China
will
suspend
direct
flights
to
and
from
Britain
indefinitely,
a
foreign
ministry
spokesman
said
last
week.