By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

French health authorities confirm the detection of the first case of the variant of the COVID-19 virus Friday, a variant currently spreading in the south-east of England.

Image/FotoshopTofs via pixabay

This first case was detected in Tours. The person is a male of French nationality residing in England. He arrived from London on December 19, he was taken care of at the CHU on the Dec. 21 and detected positive.

As the test result suggests the variant circulating in the UK, sequencing has been requested from the National Respiratory Infection Viruses Reference Center, which has so far confirmed infection with the VOC variant 202012/01. The person, asymptomatic for Covid19, is currently isolated at his home and is doing well.

The health authorities proceeded to contact-tracing of the health professionals who took care of the patient and to the search of his contact persons at risk, to proceed to their strict isolation.

A system for detecting and monitoring possible cases of infection or carriage of the VOC 202012/01 variant has been set up by Public Health France and the National Reference Centers, in conjunction with the analysis laboratories. The laboratories send to the CNR for sequencing any positive PCR test results for a person returning from the United Kingdom or having been in close contact with a person returning from the United Kingdom or any PCR test result that may suggest the variant virus. The same procedure has been put in place for people returning from South Africa, where another variant of SARS-CoV-2 is currently circulating actively.

To date, several positive samples that may suggest the VOC 202012/01 variant are being sequenced by the CNR laboratories.

Confirmed cases of the 202012/01 VOC variant have been reported in several European countries in addition to the UK.