London, March 1 (RHC)-- The widely feared Brazilian variant of COVID-19 has been detected both in England and Scotland.  Known as P1, the new variant was first detected in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus.

First detected in travelers to Japan from Brazil, this new variant of COVID-19 is believed to be more contagious.  According to Public Health England, three cases of P1 were found in South Gloucestershire. The first two cases were from the same household with a history of travel to Brazil but the third is not linked.

The other three cases were detected in Scotland and they reportedly have no links to the cases found in South Gloucestershire.  As a precautionary measure testing is being stepped up in South Gloucestershire, with people living in five postcode areas asked to get tested even in the absence of symptoms.

The affected postcodes fall within Bradley Stoke, Patchway and Little Stoke, two of which are towns and the latter constituting a suburb of north Bristol.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, described the three cases found in her country as a matter of “concern” before adding the Scottish government is “taking every possible precaution.”  "We have identified these cases thanks to our use of advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are finding more variants and mutations than many other countries and are therefore able to take action quickly", Freeman added.

P1 reportedly shares some important mutations with the South African variant of COVID-19, which according to some research is more resistant to vaccines.