The mutated strain of the coronavirus that was recently detected in the United Kingdom has been found in Slovakia, Slovak Health Minister Marek Krajci said on Tuesday.
"Experts from the Comenius University in Bratislava identified the so-called English mutation in the very first samples collected in Michalovce [a town in eastern Slovakia]," Krajci said on Facebook.
The minister did not specify the number of cases of the new coronavirus.
Krajci sounded alarmed about the possible import of the UK coronavirus strain back in December before the Christmas season, citing an increase in the frequency of flights between the two countries.
The UK government disclosed having detected the virus mutation in mid-December. First England and then the rest of the country were put under strict restrictions, prompting a mass flight of people and subsequent closure of borders by other countries in a bid to prevent the virus' import.
Late on Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new lockdown in England, its third already. (/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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