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(MENAFN – Colombo Gazette) ance has confirmed the country’s first case of the most contagious coronavirus variant recently identified in the UK.
The French Ministry of Health said the person was a French citizen of the central city of Tours, who arrived from London on December 19.
The ministry said he was asymptomatic and is currently self-isolating at home.
The emergence of the new variant of the coronavirus in England has triggered travel restrictions with dozens of countries.
France closed its border but ended its ban on Wednesday, provided people test negative before traveling. Thousands of truck drivers spent Christmas Day in their cabs in Kent waiting to cross the Channel.
This was confirmed after the man was tested in hospital on December 21, the health ministry said.
The infected person, a French national residing in the UK, was feeling well, he added without providing further details.
Other countries have also reported cases of the new variant: On Friday, Japan confirmed five infections in passengers who had all arrived from the UK, while cases in Denmark, Australia and the Netherlands were reported earlier.
France last week lifted its national lockdown, but the government said the infection rate had not fallen enough for further easing.
This means that theaters and cinemas remain closed, as do bars and restaurants. A nationwide curfew is also in effect from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The curfew has been lifted for Christmas Eve – but will remain so for New Years Eve.
France has reported more than 2.5 million confirmed Covid infections since the start of the epidemic, with more than 62,000 deaths.
The new variant first detected in England in September is responsible for the sharp rise in levels of positive tests in recent weeks in London, eastern England and the south-east. (Courtesy of the BBC)
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