Thailand has detected 24 cases of the coronavirus variant first identified in Britain, announced during a health ministry briefing on Wednesday.

These are the first reported domestic transmissions of the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant in Thailand.
"This variant is very viral and can spread 1.7 times faster than the usual strain," Yong Poovorawan, a senior virologist from Chulalongkorn University said during the briefing.