One of two Brazilian coronavirus variants has already been detected in the UK, a leading virologist said.
The variant is distinct from strains that emerged in south-east England and South Africa but they share some key mutations.
One strain is understood to be more infectious than the other because it is better able to attach itself to human cells.
Prof Wendy Barclay, who is advising the government as head of the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium, said the less infectious variant probably arrived in the UK "some time ago".
"In the databases, if you search the sequences you will see that there is some evidence for variants from around the world and, I believe, including the Brazilian one, which probably was introduced some time ago," she said.
"And that will be being traced very carefully."
She later clarified: "The new Brazilian variant of concern, that was picked up in travellers going to Japan, has NOT been detected in the UK. Other variants that may have originated from Brazil have been previously found."
Travellers from South America and Portugal, which has strong links with Brazil, were banned from entering the UK from Friday.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he was not aware of any cases of the Brazilian coronavirus variant in the UK.
Mr Shapps said the travel ban was a precautionary measure to ensure Britain's vaccination campaign is unhindered by new variants.
"Our scientists aren't saying that the vaccine won't work against it ... (but) we do not want to be tripping up at this last moment (of vaccine rollout) which is why I took the decision as an extra precaution to ban those flights," he told Sky News.
Dr Mike Tildesley, a leading epidemiologist, criticised the government for the delay in imposing the travel ban.
“We always have this issue with travel bans, of course, that we’re always a little bit behind the curve,” he told the BBC.
“My understanding is that there haven’t really been any flights coming from Brazil for about the past week, so hopefully the immediate travel ban should really minimise the risk.”
Japanese scientists first notified Brazilian authorities on Saturday about the highly infectious variant after detecting it in four travellers who arrived from the state of Amazonas.
Hospitals in Manaus, a major city located in Amazonas, are currently at breaking point amid reports of oxygen shortages and exhausted staff.
In pictures - coronavirus around the world
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
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Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed