Colombo: Sri Lanka, which is facing a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Friday reported the detection of two highly contagious variants of the virus — B.1.1.7 (Alpha) and B.1.617.2 (Delta) — in the country.
The Director of the Allergy, Immunity and Cell Biology Unit at Sri Jayewardenepura University, Chandima Jeewandara, said the Alpha variant was detected in the capital city Colombo and nine other areas in the island nation, Xinhua news agency reported.
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The Delta variant was detected in a quarantine facility at Waskaduwa on the outskirts of Colombo, Jeewandara added.
So far, Sri Lanka has reported 216,134 COVID cases and 2,011 fatalities due to the virus.
