Taiwan reports its first case of mutant Covid-19 strain found in Britain
- Health minister says a child who arrived on the island from London on the weekend was confirmed with the new variant
- New bans on incoming foreign passengers will apply from Friday to help prevent further spread
The strain believed to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than the one first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
“After comparing the genome of the sample taken from the patient who returned from Britain ... the Centres for Disease Control has confirmed that the patient has the British variant virus,” Chen said.
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The child, understood to be aged around 10 years, was among 127 passengers who arrived in Taipei from London on Sunday. Three of the passengers, including the boy, tested positive for Covid-19, according to Taiwanese health officials.
“This is the first case of the British variant found in Taiwan,” Chen said, adding the CDC was still assessing whether the two other passengers had the new strain.