The new variant of the Covid-19 virus which first emerged in the UK has reportedly spread to 70 countries so far.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the coronavirus variant found in South Africa has been detected in eight more countries in the past week, while the variant first detected in Brazil has spread to another eight countries, a report stated.
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Recent studies have found the UK variant to transmit at a rapid pace and be more severe in form.
The WHO, however, more analyses are required to further confirm those findings.
There is a need to increase diagnostic capacity to tackle the fast spreading strain to save more lives.
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WHO also stressed on the need for systematic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and the timely sharing of sequence data internationally to help countries adopt an effective health strategy to fight the disease.
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Systematic sequencing should be carried out in case of a subset of incoming travellers, as well as community-based samples.
Meawhile, the UK has reported a declining trend in Covid-19 cases from January 11-24.
Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands have also reported similar decline in cases.
US biotechnology company Moderna Inc claimed that its Covid-19 vaccine to be effective against the variants identified in the UK and South Africa.
The company plans to bring out an additional booster dose to study the ability of its vaccine to neutralize the emerging strains of Covid-19.