KATHMANDU: Nepal's Health Ministry has confirmed the detection of new variant of coronavirus infection in the country.

Three people whose samples were sent to Hong Kong for testing via gene sequencing have been confirmed to have contracted the mutated variant initially detected in the United Kingdom a while ago.

A 28-year-old woman and two men aged 32 and 67 were found to have been infected. The woman and the 32-year-old man have already tested negative. The 67-year-old, although still infected, is asymptomatic, the ministry said.

Six people who had recently returned from the UK had tested positive for Covid-19 and it was suspected that the three samples which had come out negative for s-gene target were carrying the new variant.

The Government of Nepal, upon verification of the presence of the new variant, has urged people to adopt safety measures until a vaccine is available.