26 March 2021 12:02 am Views - 2136
Sri Lanka’s Health authorities have gone on alert after a new double mutant of the Coronavirus has been detected from some samples in India with scientists studying if this new strain is more infectious or less affected by the vaccines.
Sources from the Health Ministry said that Sri Lanka was randomly checking the samples of foreigners entering the country for all the new foreign variants of the COVID-19 but authorities were now on alert for this new double mutant virus as well.
“Randomly we check the samples of the foreigners. We have been doing this for some time as all foreigners are subjected to a PCR test upon arrival to the country. There are many new strains of the COVID-19 globally so we are taking all the precautions. We are now on alert for the new variant detected in India as well,” Health Ministry sources said.
Several parts of India are facing a staggering rise in the number of COVID-19 infections with India’s Health Ministry stating that this new double mutant variant of the virus had now spread to 18 states after it was first detected in Maharashtra’s Nagpur in December last year.
Cases have now been reported from Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab, among other places. (JAMILA HUSAIN)