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PARIS: France has reported the first case of the new coronavirus variant recently discovered in the United Kingdom (UK).
According to details, the officials of the French health ministry revealed that the virus has been found in the person who had travelled back from London on 19th December.
The patient is reportedly asymptomatic and is currently quarantining at home. Earlier France closed its border but ended its ban on Wednesday, on the condition that people would test negative before travelling.
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 Singapore, Denmark, Australia, and the Netherlands have been reported too. France registered 20,262 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases and 159 more related deaths in hospitals in the last 24 hours.
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Several countries including nearly all 27 European Union (EU) states have banned travel from the UK, as governments clamp down on the spread of coronavirus over the Christmas period.
France lifted its nationwide lockdown earlier this week but the government did not ease restrictions further in view of rising coronavirus cases. So far, the country has reported more than 2.5 million confirmed coronaviruses since the start of the outbreak, with more than 62,000 casualties.
