The new strain of coronavirus responsible for the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the UK has escaped to the rest of the world.
Cases of the virus’s more contagious mutation that nearly locked much of the UK in for Christmas have been confirmed not only in multiple European countries, but also in Japan and Australia.
Japan identified five cases with the British tribe, all in people recently arriving from the UK, The Guardian reported. The five people have been quarantined, but the presence of the species is alarming in a country that successfully suppressed COVID in the early days of the pandemic and is now seeing a rapid increase in the number of cases.
One case of the British variant has been found in France so far, including in someone who had traveled to the UK and arrived in Tours from London last weekend. French health officials say several other suspected cases are being tested.
The variant has also been found in Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar, the Netherlands and Australia, according to Sky News. Most cases involve people who have traveled from the UK.
Russia was the latest country to quarantine travelers from the UK, easing restrictions after it previously banned travel from the country.
A species very similar to the British species has been found in South Africa, but experts are not yet sure whether it is the same or another variety. Another variant is circulating in Nigeria.