BEIRUT, December 28. /TASS/. The first cases of the mutated coronavirus infection were registered in Jordan, Health Minister Nazir Obeidat announced Sunday.

According to the Minister, the new strain was found in a married couple who returned from London on December 19.

"The spouses currently feel normal, but they remain in total isolation on a 14-day quarantine," Obeidat said.

Jordan suspended accepting flight from the UK between December 21 and January 3. The Health Minister explained that this decision was made due to the epidemic situation in the United Kingdom, which reported a new mutated strain of the coronavirus.

On December 14, UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that British scientists had identified a mutated version of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which might explain the rapid spread of the disease in Southeastern England. According to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the new strain could be up to 70% more contagious, although there is no indication that the strain is more lethal than its previous variant.

According to the statistics, 1,590 COVID-19 cases were registered in Jordan in the past 24 hours, with 29 deaths, which bring the total case count in the kingdom to 287,946. A total of 3,758 people died, while 261,514 have recovered.