PARIS – French authorities warn of a new variant of the coronavirus in the north-western region of Brittany that cannot be detected by standard PCR tests.
Although it is more difficult to detect, the ‘initial analyzes of this new variant do not indicate an increased severity or an increased transmissibility’, the Ministry of Health said in a statement late Monday.
The World Health Organization has placed this new species in its category of ‘variant under investigation’ due to the diversion of PCR tests. This category contains most of the thousands of variants that occur naturally – of which only a small proportion will cause public health problems – as opposed to the category “variant of concern”, which includes strains that occur in Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa .
An in-depth investigation is underway in Brittany, after eight cases were identified as carriers of the variant from the sequence in a group of 79 cases in the city of Lannion.
The announcement comes as France battles a resurgence in coronavirus cases, with President Emmanuel Macron warning that new closure measures could come in the coming days.
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