The new coronavirus strain responsible for the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the UK has escaped to the rest of the world.
Cases of the most contagious mutation in the virus that sent much of the UK to closure almost before Christmas have been confirmed not only in several European countries, but also in Japan and Australia.
Japan identified five cases with the UK strain, all in people who recently arrived from the UK, The Guardian reported. The five people have been quarantined, but the presence of the strain is worrisome in a country that managed to suppress COVID in the early days of the pandemic and is experiencing a rapid increase in cases.
A case of the UK variant was found in France so far, also in someone who had traveled to the UK and had arrived in Tours from London last weekend. French health officials say several suspicious cases are being tested.
The variant has also been found in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia, according to Sky News. Most cases include people who traveled from the UK.
Russia was the last nation to demand quarantine from UK travelers, easing restrictions after it had previously joined the ban on traveling from the nation.
A strain that looks very similar to the UK strain was found in South Africa, but experts are still unsure whether it is the same or another variant. Another variant circulates in Nigeria.