New Strain of COVID-19 May Have Been Detected

c0lo writes:

Ship linked to COVID-19 strain never before detected in NZ forced to anchor off Queensland coast

A cargo ship has been forced to anchor off the Sunshine Coast amid concerns a previously undetected strain of COVID-19 is on board.

The ship, Sofrana Surville, sailed into Australian waters from New Zealand via Noumea on Monday.

An engineer who worked on the Sofrana as well as another ship tested positive to coronavirus in New Zealand on the weekend.

Genomic testing of the engineer's virus found it had never before been detected in New Zealand.

NZ Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield reported today that the country had 25 new COVID-19 cases, two of which were linked to the engineer who came into contact with the Sorfana.

He said one of those people was infected despite only spending moments with the port worker.

"Really we're talking about a few minutes in the same room," Dr Bloomfield said.

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