WHO: Indian variant detected in 60 countries

Geneva, May 26 (EFE).- The virulent coronavirus variant that was first detected in India has since been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Some 53 of those territories have officially confirmed the presence of the Indian variant, while the WHO received unofficial reports from seven others.

During its weekly report, the WHO provided more details on the four coronavirus mutations of concern, commonly known as the United Kingdom, Brazil, South African and Indian variants.

 The organization said it had identified at least three different mutations of the Indian variant.

The Indian variant is more contagious than the initial strain of coronavirus that causes Covid-19, as are the other three. It is not yet clear whether it increases the chances of severe symptoms. 

Preliminary studies have found that the current Covid-19 vaccines are effective against the Indian variant.

In the weekly report, the WHO said: “Over the past week, the number of new cases and deaths continued to decrease, with over 4.1 million new cases and 84 000 new deaths reported; a 14% and 2% decrease, respectively, compared to the previous week.

“The European Region reported the largest decline in new cases and deaths in the past week, followed by the SouthEast Asia Region. The numbers of cases reported by the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, African, and Western Pacific Regions were similar to those reported in the previous week.

It added: “Despite a declining global trend over the past four weeks, incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths remain high, and substantial increases have been observed in many countries throughout the world.” EFE

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