Roughly 100 people in Austria are believed to be infected with a new strain of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom, Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2021) Roughly 100 people in Austria are believed to be infected with a new strain of COVID-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom, Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober said on Friday.
"We are proceeding from the fact that we now have roughly 100 cases of suspected infection with this strain, spread across Austria. They were reported in numerous regions," Anschober said at a press conference.
The health minister said he would be "surprised" if many of the tests of the suspected individuals return negative results.
EU member states are alarmed by the spread of the new strain, which is thought to be up to 70 percent more transmissible, and are working together to formulate a joint response, the health minister said.
Austria has imposed a ban on flights from the United Kingdom and South Africa in connection with the spread of new COVID-19 variants that originated in both countries. The ban was most recently extended to January 24.
A strict lockdown, the third since the start of the pandemic, was imposed in Austria on December 26. The European country has reported more than 390,700 positive tests for COVID-19, including the 1,528 new cases reported over the past day.
