ISLAMABAD : Attorney General of Pakistan, Khalid Javed has tested positive for a new COVID-19 variant.

The top lawyer of the state after feeling symptoms underwent the coronavirus test, which was diagnosed positive of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Federal health ministry has recently confirmed the presence of a new coronavirus variant in Pakistan and said that the authorities were closely monitoring the cases by using a modern surveillance system.

The health ministry has confirmed the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant in Pakistan which was detected in the United Kingdom (UK) for the first time. In a declaration, the ministry said that the new SARS-CoV-2 variant is less deadly, however, it is fast-spreading.

Earlier in January, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had confirmed the two cases of the highly contagious coronavirus variant that first emerged in the UK have been detected in Pakistan.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) had examined a number of samples taken from the UK return travellers suspected to be carrying the new Covid-19 variant, out of which two matched with the variant, named B117.

The variant was first detected in Britain in December last year, the NCOC said, adding it has also been found in 31 other countries. It said Pakistani citizens returning from the UK need to take a mandatory PCR test for the new strain of the virus.