BEIRUT — Lebanon has recorded the first case of a new COVID-19 strain in an individual who arrived from the United Kingdom this week, the country's Minister of Public Health Hamad Hassan said on Friday.

"The first case of a new coronavirus type was registered in a passenger of Flight ME (Middle East Airlines) 202, who arrived from London on Dec. 21," Hassan wrote on Twitter.

The minister appealed to the flight's passengers with a request to abide by all necessary health precautions and immediately contact a medical center if any symptoms of the disease appear for the sake of their own health and that of others.

Hassan announced on Monday the ministry's intention to introduce additional measures in regard to those citizens entering Lebanon from the UK or having a transit flight via the UK to the Middle Eastern country.

The Lebanese health authorities have confirmed 165,933 coronavirus cases so far, with the virus-related death toll reaching 1,353.

Last week, the UK identified a new variant of the coronavirus that could be up to 70 percent more transmissible than other SARS-CoV-2 virus strains. After media reports, many countries across the world shut their borders and halted travel to the UK. — Agencies