Vietnam on February 12 declared the detection of a coronavirus variant that was firstly found in Rwanda in October 2020.

The variant detected in airport staff. Photo: T.H

The newly emerged coronavirus variant in Vietnam, which has evolved separately from the variant in the UK, is from the “A lineage” and referred to as A.23.1 in the study, Tuoi Tre newspaper cited the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC).

The variant was detected on some Covid-19 patients who works for Vietnam Airport Ground Services Co., Ltd (VIAGS) located in Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The first case at Tan Son Nhat airport was confirmed on February 8. So far, the city has reported 33 new local infections linked to that case.

Regarding to this variant, the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Flu Data (GISAID) said A.23.1 was “of potential biological concern.” The likely impact of its mutations are not yet clear, however.

A.23.1 variants have been detected in other countries including Rwanda, Uganda, the UK, Canada, and Cambodia, according to GISAID.

Meanwhile, the UK variant, called B.1.1.7, is found in the northern outbreaks in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh since late January, driving Vietnam’s third wave of community transmission with more than 550 cases so far, the sharpest rise in caseload since the start of the pandemic.