The highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus found in the UK was detected from samples obtained in Colombo, Awissawella, Vavuniya & Biyagama, said Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, the Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura.
In January 2021, Sri Lanka reported that a new variant of the coronavirus found in the UK had entered Sri Lanka and a person, who had arrived from the United Kingdom confirmed to have been infected with this new variant of B.1.1.7 lineage.