France has detected its first three cases of a COVID-19 variant first identified in India, French Health Minister Olivier said on Friday.
The infectious strain was detected among people arriving from India, and who "has no link between them," Veran told state-run France Info radio.
"The first three cases are not a surprise. They require immediate intervention of the health services and that's what we are doing," the minister said.
France has been placed under a third lockdown since the end of March after suffering a surge in COVID-19 deaths and infectious cases, due to the spread of more contagious virus strains.
On Thursday, 26,538 people tested positive for COVID-19 in France, bringing the cumulative total of infections to over 5.59 million.
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