France has confirmed the first case in the country of the more contagious coronavirus variant recently identified in the UK, reports BBC News.
The French health ministry said the person was a Frenchman in the town of Tours who had arrived from London on December 19th.
The ministry said he was asymptomatic, and currently self-isolating.
The appearance of the new coronavirus variant in England triggered travel curbs with dozens of countries.
France closed its border but ended its ban on Wednesday, providing people tested negative before travelling. Thousands of lorry drivers spent Christmas Day in their cabs in Kent waiting to cross the English Channel.
[the newcase in France] was confirmed after the man was tested in hospital on December 21st, the health ministry said.
The infected person, a French national living in the UK, was feeling alright, it said without providing further details.
According to data from Nextstrain, which has been monitoring the genetic codes of viral samples around the world, cases in Denmark and Australia also came from the UK. The Netherlands also reported cases.
The new variant first detected in England in September is blamed for sharp rises in levels of positive tests in recent weeks in London, the east of England and the South East.
About two-thirds of people testing positive in these areas could have the new variant - but this is only an estimate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.