Photo: Agencies

An imported case of a coronavirus variant was reported in South China's Guangdong province on Wednesday.

The mutated 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant was first reported in South Africa in October and has been spreading rapidly in the African country.

The case in Guangdong is a 55-year-old male South African airline pilot. He flew from Singapore to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, on Dec 8 and tested positive for coronavirus, according to the provincial center for disease control and prevention.

He was then sent to Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital for treatment. The provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention received a throat swap sample from the man on Dec 31 and carried out gene sequencing. It confirmed the mutated strain on Tuesday night. The man remained in the hospital.

Both the case and the case of a patient with the UK mutated virus B.1.1.7 reported in Guangdong on Sunday were brought under closed-loop management and present an extremely low risk of community transmission, according to the center.