Iran reports first case of new variant of Coronavirus

Iran, on Tuesday, joined the list of countries that have identified cases of the new variant of coronavirus. The new variant is the one which was first reported by the British government.

"Sadly, the first instance of the mutated British COVID-19 was detected in one of our compatriots who had arrived from England,"Health Minister Saeed Namaki said in a televised address.

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The patient, who has not been named, was admitted to a private hospital where the medical team detected that the virus was of the mutated type. "Our extensive testing showed (the virus) was of the mutated type," Namaki said.

While the patient is being treated under expert supervision, no traces of the virus were found intheir family and acquaintances. This has been possible only because the patient had self-isolated upon arrival in the country.

This report has come in at a time when the country had already been struggling to report the right figures of coronavirus cases as several officials, including Namaki, believe the actual figures would be higher than what is being reported. However, Namaki believes this ismostly due to testing protocols.

The new strain of the coronavirus has been reported to spread faster than the original variant., and has now spread in various other countries. many countries across the globe have also closed their international borders for all incoming passengers from the UK.

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Iran recorded6,113 new coronavirus cases and 98 new deaths on Tuesday. The record-low number has been attributed to the partial lockdown guidelines which are still in place, weeks after its announcement.