WHO Says COVID Variant First Found In India Is Now A 'Variant Of Concern': What We Know So Far

WHO said that the B.1.617 variant first identified in India in 2020 was being classified as a variant of global concern, as per Reuters.

¡°We classify it as a variant of concern at a global level,¡± said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, at a briefing.

¡°There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility,¡± she added.

PTI

India's COVID count has surged be it cases or deaths and calls for a complete lockdown are increasing.

B.1.617 first identifies in India in last December

B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, though an earlier version was spotted a couple of months before that.

It is already spreading in other countries and many have banned or restricted movements from India.

PTI

Van Kerkhove said more information would be coming regarding the variant.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO Foundation was launching a ¡°Together for India¡± appeal. The aim is to raise funds to buy oxygen, medicines and protective equipment for health workers.

India is seeing a COVID surge in what is the 2nd wave. With some states imposing lockdown things are looking worse than a year before.

While in some areas cases are not rising as much, more needs to be done to contain the COVID pandemic.