Three cases of a particularly contagious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in South Korea,  the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Monday, AFP reported.

The three individuals belong to a family-based in London and arrived in the country on December 22. They have been placed in isolation since testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival, the KDCA statement said, as per AFP reports.

The new strain of the virus emerged earlier this month in Britain, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock declaring its transmission to be ‘out of control’. The variant has already spread to several European countries, along with Canada, Jordan and Japan.

Last week, London said another new variant of the virus was found in the country in cases linked to South Africa.

Also read: South Africa rejects claims of its COVID-19 strain being more dangerous than UK’s

Over 50 countries have imposed travel restrictions on Britain.

South Korea is among them, suspending flights from Britain till January 7.

In addition, the country has made it mandatory for passengers travelling from Britain or South Africa to submit negative Covid-19 test results before departure, KDCA chief Jung Eun-kyeong said, as per AFP reports.

South Korea reported 808 new cases Monday, its national total rising to 57,680 with 819 deaths. Daily cases have risen to over 1,000 several times this month, despite stricter social distancing measures being enforced.