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Morocco has recorded the first case of the new COVID-19 strain that first appeared in the UK.
Morocco’s Ministry of Health announced the detection of the more transmissible COVID-19 variant tonight, January 18.
Moroccan health authorities detected the virus at the Tangier Med port, in northern Morocco. The carrier is a Moroccan citizen who was in Ireland. He arrived in Tangier in a boat that departed from Marseille, France.
The virus carrier did not show any COVID-19 symptoms. He is currently under quarantine in Casablanca.
People who were in contact with the patient are also undergoing quarantine, according to the Ministry of Health’s protocol.
Read also: What You Need to Know About New COVID-19 Strain
The UK government first announced the emergence of the new COVID-19 strain in mid-December, saying the variant could be 70% more transmissible than the previously-recorded strains.
The announcement put other countries on high alert, leading many of them, including Morocco, to suspend flights with the UK.
However, despite the suspension of flights between the UK and several countries, the new COVID-19 strain appeared in at least 33 other countries.
The countries that have so far detected the variant in the Middle East and North Africa region include Lebanon, the UAE, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan.
Despite fears from the new COVID-19 strain, scientists have assured that it is not deadlier than the previously-recorded variants of the coronavirus.
Scientists also believe that the variant is “very unlikely” to resist COVID-19 vaccines.
