3 Mu variant cases detected in South Korea

South Korea has confirmed the country’s first cases of a coronavirus strain called “Mu” in three patients, Yonhap news agency reports.

The variant, which was first identified in Colombia, was confirmed in three imported cases from Mexico, the US and Colombia, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Friday, without providing further details.

The World Health Organization earlier said the Mu variant had been detected in 39 countries so far, labelling it a “variant of interest”.

The KDCA said it would continue to monitor such variants from imported cases.