Philippines reports first imported case of new coronavirus variant

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has detected its first case of the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first found in Britain, in a Filipino who had travelled from the United Arab Emirates, the health department said on Wednesday.

The individual was quarantined on arrival, the department said. The government has temporarily banned flights from Britain and other countries where community transmission of the new COVID-19 variant has taken place.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty)