France has discovered a new COVID-19 variant that appears to be able to detect by standard tests for the virus.
The French Ministry of Health said on Monday night that a group of cases of the new variant had been detected in a hospital in Lannion, in the Brittany region, France24 reported.
Several of the patients tested negative on PRC tests, health officials said.
Researchers at the Institut Pasteur are investigating whether the variant has genetic modifications that make it more difficult to detect.
Although it may be more difficult to detect, the variant no longer looks serious or transmissible than others, officials said.
The French government has resisted pressure to order a new shutdown amid the latest coronavirus outbreak that has seen an average of more than 20,000 new cases a day, the outlet reported.
“The situation is not getting better, there are an increasing number of infections and hospitals are heavily burdened with many patients, whose average age is getting lower and lower and who do not always have disease conditions,” said Prime Minister Jean Castex. .