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| Spain says up to seven people might be infected with the new variant |
Spain has confirmed four cases of the most contagious coronavirus recently identified in the United Kingdom, the last European country to do so.
The regional vice president for Health said the infections, all in Madrid, were related to recent trips to the UK.
France, Denmark and the Netherlands have also reported cases in recent days.
Details provided a week ago about the new alternative in England led to travel restrictions in dozens of countries.
Scientists say the new variant is more transmissible than previous strains, but not necessarily more dangerous for infected people.
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Madrid's vice president for health Antonio Zapatero said the confirmed cases involved three relatives of a man who traveled from the UK on Thursday.
The fourth case concerned another man, who had also traveled from the UK.
None of the patients was in serious condition, said Zapatero, and "there is no need to worry."
He said there were three more suspected cases of the new variant, although the test results won't be ready until Tuesday or Wednesday.
What do we know about the spread of the new alternative?
News of the cases in Spain came just hours after France tested the first recognized affected person that they had the new variant.
The French Ministry of Health stated that the man or woman was once a French citizen in the central city of Tours, arriving from London on December 19.
The ministry said the man, who had been living in the UK, had no symptoms and was currently isolating himself at home.
France closed its borders with the United Kingdom after confirming the new alternative in Britain, but ended its ban on citizens of the European Union on Wednesday, provided the test results are negative before traveling.
Thousands of truckers spent Christmas Day in their taxis waiting to cross the English Channel.
Other international locations have also featured pronounced cases of the new type: on Friday, Japan demonstrated 5 infections in passengers arriving from the UK, while cases had previously been mentioned in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.
Last week, France lifted its national blockade, but the government said the infection rate had not dropped enough for further relaxation.
France has reported more than 2.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, with more than 62,000 deaths, the seventh highest total in the world.
Meanwhile, the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines was delivered domestically from Belgium to the central pharmacy of the health system on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday, AFP reported.
The first injections are scheduled to be given to patients at two senior facilities, in Sevran and Dijon, on Sunday.
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