Published July 6, 2021, 12:42 PM
The new Lambda COVID-19 strain has already been detected in more than 30 countries, the Health Ministry of Malaysia said on Monday, July 5.
“The Lambda strain was reported to have originated from Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world,” the ministry said in a tweet on Monday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, meanwhile, said that health officials are still monitoring the COVID-19 Lambda mutation and is not yet considered as a variant of concern.
World Health Organization Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe (PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Lambda, at this point in time, still remains a variant of interest. That does not mean that we are not following it. We are still studying it and it doesn’t warrant a classification as a variant of concern at this point in time,” Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to the Philippines, said in a virtual interview with ABS-CBN News on Tuesday.