South Korea reports its first cases of new coronavirus variant

SEOUL: South Korea has confirmed the first three cases of the new coronavirus strain in the country, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The three people arrived from the United Kingdom on December 22, KDCA said.

"They arrived in the country as a family living in London and tests revealed the presence of the virus; they are now in quarantine," KDCA said.

South Korean health specialists are now analyzing biological material from another family of four people who have arrived from the UK and have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Earlier this month, UK health officials announced that the country had identified a new variant of the coronavirus that spreads faster than other Sars-Cov-2 virus strains. Many countries have suspended passenger travel to and from the United Kingdom in a bid to prevent the import of the new virus strain.

South Korea halted flights to and from the UK on December 23, but it is still possible to get from the UK to South Korea via other countries.

The new coronavirus variant, which infects more easily but does not appear to be more deadly or pose any concerns for vaccines, has already been detected in several countries, including Canada, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa and Australia.