SKOPJE, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Health of North Macedonia has identified the country's first case of the new coronavirus variant that first found in the United Kingdom, Health Minister Venko Filipce said here on Wednesday.
Filipce said on social media that the new variant was found in the sample of a 46-year-old patient, who was declared recovered from the virus on Jan. 22.
The patient had first tested positive on Dec. 29 last year and was eventually treated in a private clinic, where he again tested positive to the virus.
The patient reportedly had no travel history and no coronavirus positive contacts either.
On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 394 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 91,555, with 80,008 recoveries and 2,821 fatalities.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 236 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Jan. 26. Enditem
