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A traveler walks past screeners testing a system of thermal imaging cameras which check body temperatures at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) amid the COVID-19 pandemic on June 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images
Several countries have imposed travel restrictions and closed their borders after reports of a new, more contagious coronavirus strain.
The new variant of the virus is up to 70% more transmissible.
Scroll down to see which countries have so far reported cases of the new virus strain.
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Reports of a new and more contagious coronavirus strain have prompted panic in Europe and beyond.
The new variant of the virus, which might be up to 70% more transmissible, was first detected in the UK in September but had since spread rapidly.
The new variant has brought some countries to close their borders and tighten their travel restrictions even further.
From Japan to Sweden, scroll down to see a list of countries where the new coronavirus strain has already been identified.
1. United Kingdom
A crowded London street as seen on October 18, 2020. Matthew Chattle/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
The United Kingdom was the first country to report the new variant of the coronavirus back in September.
Earlier this month, the country’s health minister, Matt Hancock, said the new variant was “getting out of control,” prompting the government to put millions of people under stricter lockdown measures for Christmas and a host of countries to block travel from the UK.
Source: Business Insider
2. Sweden
People stroll at the Drottninggatan shopping street in central Stockholm, Sweden on November 10, 2020. Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
Swedish authorities detected the new strain after a traveler from the UK fell ill on arrival and tested positive, Sweden’s health agency said on Saturday.
The infected individual has been kept isolated and no other cases have been reported so far.
Source: The Guardian
3. France
Medical staff members move a patient suffering from the coronavirus at Lille-Lesquin airport in France on November 10, 2020. Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
France detected its first case of a new variant on Christmas Day. The individual was a French national who returned from London.
Source: Al Jazeera
4. Spain
The almost empty beach of Palma, Spain on December 25, 2020. Clara Margais/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Four cases of the new coronavirus variant have been confirmed in Spain, health authorities said on Saturday. All involve people who recently arrived from the UK.
“The patients are not seriously ill. We know that this strain is more transmissible, but it does not cause more serious illness,” said Madrid’s regional government’s deputy health chief, Antonio Zapatero, according to the Guardian. “There is no need for alarm.”
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Source: The Guardian
5. Switzerland
A skier wearing a protective face mask walks past an apres-ski bar in the Alpine resort of Verbier on December 21, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
Three people tested positive for the new coronavirus strain in Switzerland, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) said on Saturday.
Two of the patients lived in the UK but had been visiting the country.
“All close contacts have been identified and quarantined,” a FOPH spokeswoman said, Swiss Info reported.
Switzerland is the only European country keeping its ski slopes open to tourism over the Christmas and New Year period.
Source: Swiss Info
6. Denmark
Jytte Margrete Frederiksen, 83, is being vaccinated as one of the first Danes in Ishoj, Denmark on December 27, 2020. Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP via Getty Images
Nine cases of a new variant were detected in Denmark, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported this week.
Source: Al Jazeera
7. The Netherlands
Medical personnel wearing full protective suits are seen as they treat a patient infected with the coronavirus in the ICU at Maastricht UMC+ Hospital in Maastricht, Netherlands, on November 10, 2020. Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters
The Netherlands was one of the first European countries to announce that it found the new virus variant after the UK.
On December 22, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said the new variant was found in two cases in the Amsterdam area.
Source: Al Jazeera
8. Germany
Nurses have their daily shift handover briefing on the medical treatment for patients suffering from the coronavirus at the COVID-19 isolation ward of DRK Kliniken Berlin Mitte hospital in Berlin, Germany, on November 11, 2020. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
Germany recorded its first case of the mutant coronavirus variant after a woman who flew into Frankfurt from London Heathrow tested positive on December 20.
Source: The Local
9. Italy
A man walks past a billboard raising awareness about the new coronavirus that reads “Altogether, without fear,” in Naples, Italy on March 22, 2020. Carlo Hermann /AFP/Getty
Italian officials said this week they identified the strain in a couple who flew from the UK to Rome.
Source: Sky News
10. Canada
A nurse is inoculated with the Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus vaccine in Toronto, Canada, on December 14, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
A couple in Ontario, Canada, tested positive for the new strain of the virus on December 26. They had no known travel history or high-risk contacts and are now in self-isolation, officials said.
Source: BBC
11. Japan
An electric appliance store staff wearing a face mask works at the cash desk on December 27, 2020, in Tokyo, Japan. Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images
On Christmas Day, Japan reported its first five cases of the fast-spreading virus variant.
Japanese officials also ordered a travel suspension on Monday, which is expected to run through January and temporarily ban non-resident foreign nationals from entering the country.
Japanese citizens and foreign residents will be allowed to enter but must show proof of a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before departing for Japan and quarantine for two weeks.
Source: Business Insider
12. Lebanon
A guard checks a woman’s temperature before she enters a building in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 23, 2020. Xinhua/Bilal Jawich via Getty Images
On Friday, Lebanon’s health minister said that a case of the new variant was detected on a flight arriving from London on December 21.
Hamad Hassan urged all passengers on the flight to take precautionary measures.
Source: Al Jazeera
13. Singapore
A couple with face masks walk through Singapore during the coronavirus outbreak on March 14, 2020. Ee Ming Toh/AP
Singapore’s health ministry confirmed on December 24 that it too had one case of the new coronavirus variant.
Source: Al Jazeera
14. Australia
Long lines form outside a COVID-19 test site in Shepparton, Australia, on October 15, 2020. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Two cases of the new variant have been detected in New South Wales, Australia, after a flight arrived from the UK, the state’s chief health officer Kerry Chant said this week.
Source: Sky News
15. South Africa
A volunteer receives an injection for a potential vaccine against COVID-19 at the Baragwanath Hospital on June 28, 2020, in Soweto, South Africa. Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld/Gallo Images via Getty Images
The UK detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus in South Africa, British health secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday.
Travel restrictions with South Africa have been imposed.
Source: BBC
16. Nigeria
Bidemi Aye receives a pre-paid debit card for cash and food provided by World Food Programme (WFP) in a makeshift home in the Makoko riverine slum settlement in Lagos, Nigeria on November 27, 2020. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Another new variant of the coronavirus was reported in Nigeria on December 24.
It is separate from the ones found in the UK and South Africa.
John Nkengasong, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported on Thursday that health officials analyzed more samples and that little is so far known about the variant.
“Give us some time…it’s still very early,” Nkengasong said, according to Al Jazeera.
Source: Al Jazeera
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