The Gambia has recorded its first two cases of a coronavirus strain first detected in the UK, news agencies report.

Health Minister Ahmadou Samateh told lawmakers the strain was detected in two people entering the country, the AFP reports.

A second official, director of health services Mustapha Bittaye is quoted by Reuters as saying the first case was a man who had travelled from the UK, while the other was a Gambian woman.

The ministry said it was tracking down the origins of transmission.

The World Health Organization in its latest update listed 50 countries where the variant had been detected.

None of the 50 countries was in the African continent.