Where in Spain has new British variant of coronavirus been detected?
The new strain of Covid-19 that is thought to have originated in the British Isles has now been detected in at least four regions across Spain, health authorities have confirmed.
Madrid now has six confirmed cases and has another 13 suspected cases under observation after the first case of the new variant was confirmed on Saturday December 26th in a person who had recently returned from the UK.
Andalusia has confirmed six cases of those suffering from the new strain, four of those are people who recently travelled from the UK in Spain and the two others have been identified as people who had been in contact with them.
The regional health minister of Andalusia, Jesús Aguirre confirmed that all four travellers had arrived in Spain with a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of travel and pointed out that such tests were no firm guarantee that travellers were indeed Covid-free as they could catch it or see symptoms develop after taking the test.
Two new cases have also been confirmed in Elche, in the Alicante province of the Valencia region while in Galicia, one person who recently travelled from the UK back to Spain has been confirmed in the town of Sergas near the regional capital Santiago and another seven people are under observation.
The new strain of the virus, which experts fear is more contagious but no more deadly, has prompted more than 50 countries including Spain to impose travel restrictions on the UK.
Madrid has since Tuesday December 22nd banned all entries from the United Kingdom except for Spanish nationals and those that can prove residency in Spain.
On Wednesday, the EU's health agency has warned of a 'high' risk that newly discovered coronavirus variants could increase the strain on healthcare and ultimately cause more deaths due to their infectious nature.
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Madrid now has six confirmed cases and has another 13 suspected cases under observation after the first case of the new variant was confirmed on Saturday December 26th in a person who had recently returned from the UK.
Andalusia has confirmed six cases of those suffering from the new strain, four of those are people who recently travelled from the UK in Spain and the two others have been identified as people who had been in contact with them.
The regional health minister of Andalusia, Jesús Aguirre confirmed that all four travellers had arrived in Spain with a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of travel and pointed out that such tests were no firm guarantee that travellers were indeed Covid-free as they could catch it or see symptoms develop after taking the test.
Two new cases have also been confirmed in Elche, in the Alicante province of the Valencia region while in Galicia, one person who recently travelled from the UK back to Spain has been confirmed in the town of Sergas near the regional capital Santiago and another seven people are under observation.
The new strain of the virus, which experts fear is more contagious but no more deadly, has prompted more than 50 countries including Spain to impose travel restrictions on the UK.
Madrid has since Tuesday December 22nd banned all entries from the United Kingdom except for Spanish nationals and those that can prove residency in Spain.
On Wednesday, the EU's health agency has warned of a 'high' risk that newly discovered coronavirus variants could increase the strain on healthcare and ultimately cause more deaths due to their infectious nature.
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