New Covid strain: Pakistan reports first three confirmed cases Web Report/Islamabad Filed on December 29, 2020 | Last updated on December 29, 2020 at 03.19 pm The health authorities took 12 Covid samples of the UK returnees, out of which six were positive and three showed the new variant of the Covid-19 virus The new coronavirus variant which first emerged in the UK has been detected in Pakistan, Dawn reported on Tuesday. According to a Sindh Health Department statement, the health authorities took 12 Covid samples of the UK returnees, out of which six were positive and three showed the new variant of the Covid-19 virus in the first phase.