MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil confirms cases of UK variant of the coronavirus in two states

Goiás authorities said the two people who have caught the UK variant live on the outskirts of the federal capital Brasília

Brazil's health ministry confirmed on Sunday cases of the UK variant of the novel coronavirus in two states and in the federal district of Brasília. However, the government said it has not yet confirmed cases of the South African variant.

Two of the confirmed cases of the UK variant were reported in the state of Goiás after sequencing test samples taken on Dec. 31, according to the state’s health department on Friday.

In that statement, Goiás authorities said the two people who have caught the UK variant live on the outskirts of the federal capital Brasília.

The World Health Organization has said the UK variant has now been found in more than 70 countries.

Brazil has the world’s highest number of coronavirus deaths after the United States and more than 9.8 million confirmed cases. Two Brazilian variants, Manaus and Rio, of the virus are circulating in 10 states, the health ministry said.

The two people in Goiás who caught the UK variant had contact with a relative who lives in England, traveled to Brazil for the holidays and had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the Goiás health department said.