Finland: New COVID-19 strain may not show up on tests

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - A new mutated coronavirus strain that may not show up in PCR tests was found Thursday in Finland, experts have reportedly said.

The Helsinki-based Vita Laboratories said the variant, Fin-796H, was different from strains previously found in South Africa and the UK, Finland's national public broadcaster YLE reported.

Vita Laboratories considers the discovery of the new variant significant as it may not show up in PCR tests that search for particular genetic sequences in the virus' RNA.

The lab also noted that it was unlikely that the variant had emerged in Finland, given the country's low rate of coronavirus infection.

So far, 450 cases of coronavirus variants have been reported in Finland, and of these, 422 were the British variant, 22 the South African variant and one case involved the Brazilian variant of the virus.

A total of 52,209 cases have been reported in the country, including 725 which led to fatalities died due to the virus.