Sign up for our special edition newsletter to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.

Vietnam health officials have identified a new, highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus, according to a report.

The new variant is a mix of the strains of COVID-19 found in the United Kingdom and India, the Vietnamese Health Ministry told VnExpress, an international newspaper. 

The new variant is very contagious and can replicate itself quickly, the Hill reported Saturday. It has caused a recent wave of new infections in the country.