NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus confirmed its first cases Wednesday of the Covid-19 variant behind the acceleration of India's explosive outbreak, detected among four people quarantined upon arrival, including a traveler from the Philippines, the health ministry said. The cases were detected in people arriving from India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, countries under Cypriot rules where quarantine for 14-days is required on arrival. Four samples tested positive for the Indian variant, while two others were positive for the South African variant. The World Health Organization said last week that the B.1.617 variant of COVID-19, first found in India in October, had been detected in 44 countries. Government-controlled southern Cyprus has registered over 71,000 cases of COVID-19 and 348 deaths since the pandemic began.

Source: Philippine Star May 20, 2021 01:30 UTC