UVZ: British Strain of Coronavirus in Slovakia at Least in mid-November

Bratislava, January 20 (TASR) – The presence of the British strain of coronavirus in Slovakia has been traced back to at least November 14, with this mutation making up as much as 57 percent of positive cases recorded as part of mass testing carried out in Trencin on December 19-20, the Public Health Authority (UVZ) announced on Wednesday.

An analysis of the samples for the B1.1.7 variant was carried out in January. Following the optimisation and validation of test kits, it will be possible to ascertain as part of a single PCR test whether a person is coronavirus-positive and whether the infection involves the British strain or not, said UVZ spokesperson Dasa Rackova.