32 more countries report cases of COVID-19 variant first seen in UK

At least 33 countries have reported cases of the new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus which was first detected in Britain.

Turkey became the latest country to slam its doors to travellers from the United Kingdom on Friday, saying that it had found 15 infections with the new strain of the virus that first emerged in England. All were among recent arrivals from the UK, The New York Times reports.

Britain announced the finding of the new variant on Dec 8. More than 40 countries have since barred entry to travellers from the UK. Some countries are also imposing restrictions on travellers, including US citizens, who in recent weeks visited the countries where the variant has been detected, according to the report.

Bangladesh has also imposed a mandatory two-week institutional quarantine period for all travellers arriving in the country from the United Kingdom.

The variant, known as B.1.1.7., has not been known to lead to more severe cases of Covid-19, but its circulation is likely to portend more infections and more hospitalisations at a time when many countries are already battling surges in caseloads and anticipating more from holiday gatherings and travel.

The list of countries that have identified infections with the variant has been growing rapidly, and as of Friday includes — besides the United States, Britain and Turkey — Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as part of a unified China.

In South Africa, a similar version of the virus has emerged, sharing one of the mutations seen in B.1.1.7., according to scientists who detected it. That variant, known as 501.V2, has been found in up to 90 percent of the samples whose genetic sequences have been analyzed in South Africa since mid-November.

The British authorities said they have detected two cases of the variant identified in South Africa. In both cases, the infected people had been in contact with people who had travelled to Britain from South Africa in recent weeks. Switzerland, Finland, Australia, Zambia and France have also detected the variant.