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Indian Variant
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has recorded the world’s sharpest spike in coronavirus infections this month, with political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines.
Scientists are studying what led to an unexpected surge, and particularly whether a variant of the novel coronavirus first detected in India is to blame. The variant, named B.1.617, has been reported in some 17 countries, raising global concern. Here are the basics:
WHAT IS THE INDIAN VARIANT?
The B.1.617 variant contains two key mutations to the outer “spike” portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel.
Several states have said they will be unable to immunize people aged 18-45 immediately
Reuters
April 30, 2021
A medical worker tends to a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), inside the ICU ward at Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi, India, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
All vaccination centres in India’s financial capital of Mumbai were shut for three days starting Friday due to a shortage of vaccines, said authorities, as the country posted another record daily rise in coronavirus cases.
India reported 386,452 news cases on Friday, while deaths from Covid-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data.
Friday, 30 Apr 2021 02:05 PM MYT
A security guard stands outside an empty Covid-19 vaccination centre in Mumbai, India April 30, 2021. ― Reuters pic
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BENGALURU, April 30 ― All vaccination centres in India s financial capital of Mumbai were shut for three days starting today due to a shortage of vaccines, said authorities, as the country posted another record daily rise in coronavirus cases.
India reported 386,452 new cases tpday, while deaths from Covid-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data.
However, medical experts believe actual Covid-19 numbers in the world s second-most populous nation may be five to 10 times greater than the official tally.
BusinessWorld
May 12, 2021 | 12:03 am
A MAN is consoled by his relative as he sees the body of his father, who died from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), before his burial at a graveyard in New Delhi, India, April 16. REUTERS
THE PHILIPPINES has detected its first two cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Tuesday.
The variant, known as B.1.617, had been confirmed in two Filipino workers who returned in April from the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Alethea De Guzman, director of the DoH epidemiology bureau, told a news conference, adding they had been in isolation since coming back.
What is the Indian variant?
The B.1.617 variant contains two key mutations to the outer spike portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the predominant lineage of B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, although an earlier version was spotted in October 2020.
The WHO has described it as a variant of interest , suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity.
Other strains with known risks, such as those first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, have been categorised as variants of concern , a higher threat level.