France: 20 cases of COVID ‘variant of concern’ found in India

Despite the detection of five clusters, the health minister says strain ‘not spreading rapidly’ and pushes ahead with the reopening plan.

The coronavirus variant first detected in India appears to be on the rise in France, which has now recorded at least 20 cases, according to the country’s health minister. On Monday, Olivier Veran told French news channel LCI that people affected had been identified in five small clusters, local media reported. Veran did not specify where the cases had been recorded but said the variant, formally known as B.1.617, was “not spreading rapidly” in the country.