Vietnam reported its first case of the new coronavirus variant that is spreading right now in Britain.
It was detected on a 44-year-old woman who returned to Vietnam from Britain. The woman was immediately quarantined and was confirmed positive of the new variant, Vietnam’s health ministry reported in a statement released today.
The ministry said that its researchers have already “ran gene-sequencing on the patient’s sample and found the strain is a variant known as “VOC 202012/01,” it said.
The variant contains a genetic mutation that is supposedly highly transmissible by about 40-70 percent compared to the original virus, according to theory.
In response to the spread of the new coronavirus variant in Britain, several countries have already implemented travel restrictions against those coming from Britain to stop its further spread to other countries.
Vietnam is still doing its best to bring its citizens back from the UK by operating several repatriation flights.
With strict quarantine and tracking measures, Vietnam was one of the few countries who have quickly and successfully contained COVID-19 outbreaks. This allowed this Southeast Asian country’s economy to recover faster than most countries in Asia, with only 1,474 infections and only 35 fatalities.
(Photo credit: Bloomberg.com)