UK Has 77 Cases of South African Mutant COVID Strain as Health Secretary Warns Other Variants Could Still Be Undetected - FARS

Britain has 77 cases of the deadly South African mutant COVID strain with potential hidden strains undetected, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned Sunday.

The health secretary revealed the cases are all connected to travel from the country and those infected are under close observation, The Sun reported.

• Hancock also warned nine cases of a Brazilian mutant strain have also been detected in the UK.

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 today, he added, "There are 77 known cases of the South African variant here in the UK."

"They are under very close observation, and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading," he continued.

Hancock noted the known cases were people who had travelled from South Africa or had contact with someone else who had done so.

But he refused to say whether Britain's borders should be closed to protect people from new variants.