The B.1.617 COVID-19 variant, first identified in India, has now been found in 53 countries of the world, said WHO on Wednesday. On the other hand, India reported a 23 percent decline in the number of new daily cases in the last 7 days but they were still the highest in the world.
In its weekly update on the coronavirus epidemic, WHO stated that the number of new cases and deaths continued to decrease globally. During this period, 4.1 million new cases with 84,000 deaths also reported. However, it is a 14 percent and 2 percent decrease respectively compared to the previous week.
Let us tell you that the B.1.617 variants are divided in three lineages – B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, and B.1.617.3. During their investigation, it has been found that there have been some changes in their genetic structure. According to the World Health Organization, B.1.617.1 variant has been found in about 41 countries, B.1.617.2 type in 54 countries, while B.1.617.3 type has been found in six countries so far.
About 11 countries have reported to the World Health Organization about the cases of B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants. Meanwhile, WHO has declared B.1.617 as a "variant of concern" and the update noted that this variant has "increased transmissibility", disease severity is "under investigation", risk of reinfection is "under investigation, a possible modest reduction in neutralization activity (B.1.617.1)". According to worldometer.com, 168,572,477 cases of coronavirus have been reported worldwide so far. Of these, 150,118,628 people have been cured, while 3,501,270 people have died.
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