ARCHIVED - First case of Indiant variant in Valencia region detected in Elche
The isolated case of the Indian variant has been confirmed in Elche in the Baix Vinalopó comarca of Alicante province.
The first case of the Indian variant of coronavirus in the Valencia region has been detected in Elche, according to the Ministry of Health.
Sources have confirmed the infected man - whose condition is said to be "progressing favourably" - had recently travelled to Madrid, and stressed that this is an isolated case.
To date, there have been cases of the Indian variant - now renamed Delta by the World Health Organisation - reported in the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon, and the patient is being closely monitored to prevent the spread of the variant.
Last April, the Valencia health department investigated the case of a woman admitted to the General Hospital of Valencia with Covid, but eventually determined with "99.9 per cent certainty" that she had the English variant and not the Indian strain.
But it isn't the first time the variant has been present in the region.
In May, the Foreign Health Ministry confirmed the presence of the Indian strain on board the ship 'Skiathos I', belonging to shipping company Marfret, which was detained for several days in the Port of Valencia.
IMAGE: Archive