First Cases Of New Coronavirus Strain Found In Cambodia - Health Ministry

Cambodian medics officially reported the first three cases of the new deadlier and faster-spreading COVID-19 strain infections in the country, the Cambodian Health Ministry said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2021) Cambodian medics officially reported the first three cases of the new deadlier and faster-spreading COVID-19 strain infections in the country, the Cambodian Health Ministry said on Monday.

The cases were confirmed by the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia. According to the ministry, the patients are currently undergoing treatment in the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control in Phnom Penh. The infected passengers arrived earlier in February from India and China, making transfers in Singapore and South Korea.

"Medical scientists are finding and along with WHO [underlining] the greater fatality, infecting speed and severity of the [original] variant which cases have been found in the country, the region and the entire world," the ministry said, as quoted by the Khmer Times.

The ministry urged citizens to be cautious and follow the safety guidelines to avoid infections with the new COVID variant.

The new B.1.1.7 strain of Coronavirus, found in the samples extracted from the passengers, was first detected in the UK in the fall of 2020. It is estimated to be 30% to 70% more lethal and 35% to 45% more transmissible than the original virus. Cases of the new variant were detected in over 82 countries. Apart from the three new cases, Cambodia has officially reported 479 infected with the original virus, 469 of which were cured, since the start of the pandemic. So far there have been no registered COVID-related deaths in the country.