A South Korean man who recently returned from Britain tested positive for the novel coronavirus after his death.

South Korea's health authorities said on Sunday in a press release that they are trying to secure samples from the man in order to conduct further tests, adding that the results will come out in the first week of next month.

If the man is confirmed to have contracted the new variant, which is rapidly spreading in Britain, it would be the country's first such case.

The man in his 80s returned from Britain on December 13 and had been in self-isolation in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

He was rushed to a local hospital after a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning; after his death, the man tested positive for the virus.