The UK ordered patients suspected of contracting a virus from mink in Denmark into isolation as fears that the mutated coronavirus strain could undermine vaccine efforts increased.
Hospitals were told to quarantine and gene test coronavirus patients who recently travelled from Denmark.
Doctors were told the strain showed "less sensitivity for neutralising antibodies", The Telegraph said.
Patients who recently travelled to Denmark must not be offered routine outpatient, ambulatory or primary care, an alert to British doctors said.
If patients tested positive for coronavirus they must be treated in specialist centres, it said.
Known as cluster five, the variant has four mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus scientists put into vaccines to help drive antibodies.
The mutated strain is believed to have jumped from farmed mink to humans in northern Denmark in June.
There are now more than 200 patients with coronavirus infections linked to mink farms.
At the weekend, the UK banned entry to all non-residents coming from Denmark, while UK citizens must isolate for two weeks.
The travel ban came as vets began the grim task of gassing and burning 17 million mink to help stop the spread of the strain.
Scientists said virus mutations are common and often harmless, and this one does not cause a more severe illness in humans.
But Prof Wendy Barclay, a biologist at Imperial College London, said the mink strain was unusual and should be taken seriously because of the risk to the vaccine.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "If the spike protein of the virus is now different to it was when we first started developing the vaccine, there would be a mismatch.
“The protection we get might not be as good as we want it to be.”
Prof Barclay said that it was still unclear how damaging the new strain could prove, but authorities should monitor it.
“It’s so important we group together and work with the Danish,” she said.
The new health measures to quarantine Britons arriving from Denmark mirrored those imposed on returning travellers from Wuhan, central China, at the start of the pandemic.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Sunday the ban was the “right decision”.
He told Sky News: “The concern is that you see a mutated version of the coronavirus and that if it spread, it would undermine our ability to make an effective vaccine.
“We need to look very carefully at the science.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden also reported the disease in mink.
It said the implications of the mutated strain were not yet well understood but the variation appeared to be less inhibited by antibodies.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Dubai, 3.30pm
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Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
