Infections involving two new recombinant variants of the omicron COVID-19 strain have been confirmed in the country for the first time.

Health authorities said on Tuesday that two local cases of the subvariant XE and a third case of the subvariant XM have been confirmed and an epidemiological study is underway.

One of the two XE patients had tested positive on March 27 after entering the country from Britain, while the other was infected locally on March 30. The XM patient was confirmed to have contracted the strain on March 27.

The XE is a recombinant variant involving the BA.1 and BA.2 omicron strains, and early analysis shows that its transmission rate was around ten percent higher than the BA.2. Over one-thousand-170 cases have been confirmed in Britain.

The XM is a recombinant of the BA.1.1 and BA.2 and over 30 cases have been reported in eight countries, including Germany and Denmark.

Authorities said the World Health Organization classifies both recombinants as omicron strains, suggesting minimal change in characteristics. They said they would continue to monitor them, as available data remains slim.

Last week, South Korea had confirmed its first case of the XL subvariant, also of the omicron strain.