The new coronavirus strain found in the United Kingdom has now been reported in Pakistan. The strain was identified in three samples taken from passengers who had recently returned to Sindh from Britain. The Sindh Health Department took samples of 12 UK returnees for genotyping out of which six were found to be Covid-19 positive, Geo News reported.
"Three showed the new variant for the COVID-19 in the first phase," the Department said in a statement.
The statement added the genotyping revealed it to be a 95 per cent match of the new strain, which is 70 per cent more transmissible.
The authorities have initiated contact tracing of the patients and are placing them in isolation.
"These samples will go through a second round of genotyping," Department spokesperson Meeran Yousuf told Geo News.
The development comes as Pakistan's overall coronavirus caseload and death toll have increased to 475,085 and 9,992, as of Tuesday.
(With inputs from IANS)
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