Coronavirus: No South Africa or Brazil variants found so far

More positive cases have been found for the Covid-19 variant first detected in the UK, but none for the variants from South Africa and Brazil, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

According to a spokesperson from the ministry, the Institute of Neurology and Genetics (Cing) detected another nine samples positive to the UK variant out of 24 samples collected between January 22 and 28. No variants identified in South Africa and Brazil have been detected as yet.

From next week, Cyprus will be sending about 4 to 8 per cent of its positive coronavirus samples to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for more specialised tests on the new variants. The ECDC has offered to screen a percentage of positive samples from EU member states, covering their transport and screening cost.