No Case Of New Variant C.1.2 Reported In India So Far: Govt Sources

New Delhi: Allaying fears amid media report of the new coronavirus variant C.1.2 entering the country, govt sources on Wednesday clarified that no case of C.1.2 has been reported in India so far.

According to a study published on Tuesday, C.1.2, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, first found in South Africa and now in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, England, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland could be more transmissible and evade protection provided by vaccines.

The new variant has more mutations than other variants of concern (VOCs) or variants of interest (VOIs) detected worldwide so far, the researchers said.

Amid the scare, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday that it was monitoring the variant as the virus evolves but it does not appear to be spreading.

“It does not appear to be increasing in circulation,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a U.N. briefing, adding the variant labelled C.1.2. was not currently classified as a “variant of concern” by the U.N. health agency.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said special arrangements will be made at airports to screen visitors from nations where the C.1.2 variant has been detected. They will be subjected to RT-PCR tests on arrival here and if necessary, they would be quarantined, the CM said in the COVID review meeting.

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