Kathmandu, Jan 18 (IANS): Nepal's Health Ministry has confirmed the detection of cases of the new coronavirus variant, which was first discovered in the UK late last year.

Three people whose samples were sent to Hong Kong for testing via gene sequencing have been confirmed to have contracted the mutated varian.

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, while 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 whose samples s-gene target had come out negative were carrying the new variant.

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

Nepal has so far reported 267,322 confirmed coronavirus ases and 1,959 deaths.