WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A coronavirus outbreak that sent New Zealand’s biggest city into a snap lockdown over the weekend involved the more transmissable UK variant, health officials confirmed on Monday, the first time the strain has been detected locally. Auckland’s nearly 2 million residents were plunged into a new three-day lockdown on Sunday after three new COVID-19 cases were detected in the city. Genome sequencing of two the cases – all three are immediate family – revealed they were the B1.1.7 variant. New Zealand’s health department said on Monday there were no new cases of community transmission, but five in managed isolation facilities. The country has reported a total of 2,330 confirmed and probable cases since the start of the pandemic, a fraction of those reported by other developed nations, including 25 deaths.

Source: Egypt Independent February 15, 2021 12:11 UTC