New coronavirus strain from South Africa identified in UK

Two cases of another "more transmissible" strain of coronavirus has been detected in the United Kingdom.

BBC News reports both people had travelled to South Africa, where the new strain is linked to a surge in cases, with travel restrictions now imposed on the country.

The UK's Health Secretary Matt Hancock has urged the British public "not to give up now"

He says this virus is yet more transmissible and appears to have mutated further than the new virus.

BBC News reports the number of daily positive cases in the UK has hit another record high, with 39,237 positive cases reported in the past 24 hours.

There are over 66 million COVID-19 cases confirmed worldwide and over 1.5 million deaths.