The variant, which is believed to have spurred a recent wave of COVID-19 infections in the country, has a mix of characteristics from both the strains first found in the United Kingdom and India, according to VnExpress, an international newspaper. Specifically, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that the new variant is a version of the one first found in India with mutations like the U.K. variant, according to the news outlet. The new variant is highly contagious when spread through the air, and Long said that viral cultures revealed the virus was able to replicate itself very quickly.